


I don't like Marshmallows

by softbastardd



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Alternative Universe - Canon Divergance, Fluff, Kinda, Komaeda Nagito Being Komaeda Nagito, Komaeda Nagito Is Obsessed With Hope, M/M, Secret Relationship, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn, Tsundere Hinata Hajime, Worldbuilding, i don’t know how to tag, no beta we die like ultimates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23885083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softbastardd/pseuds/softbastardd
Summary: Hajime Hinata is the new transfer student to class 77 of hopes peak academy. Hajime is introduced as the Ultimate Hope and Nagito is swept away, unable to approach Hajime without being awestruck. Somehow they start talking outside of school, Then the seating arrangement is moved and it's two student desks per row and Nagito prays for his talent to come in handy, he just happens to be the Ultimate Lucky Student afterall.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito
Comments: 80
Kudos: 278





	1. I believe in my luck

**Author's Note:**

> this is like, my first ever Komahina (or just danganronpa) fic and i swear i’m trying,, Tags will be updated as the story progresses, it hopefully won’t be too long maybe 6 chapters?

Nagito Komaeda walked into class, ready to start the new semester with a hopeful smile across his face. The sunlight poured into the classroom from the open curtains and illuminated the otherwise dark room, everyone was already in class and had begun to catch up with each other, discussing what they'd done over the winter break. Pondering for a moment as to why the lights were off, Nagito flipped the switch only to hear groans calling his name from the entire class. 

"Sorry, Sorry.." He said with a giggle, flipping the switch once more. He walked further into the room, sitting down in his desk and listening in on Kuzuryu, Pekoyama, Sonia and Soda's conversation, they too were talking about their winter breaks, Soda in the midst of retelling a vacation he'd taken when Sonia chimed in, interrupting him. (Not that Soda seemed to mind.)

"Oh! Have you heard the news yet?" She clapped her hands together gently with a look of excitement on her face while she spoke, "We are to be getting a new classmate this semester!" She announced loud enough for those in conversations around them to turn toward her. 

"Really? This late into the school year?" Kuzuryu questioned, raising an eyebrow. "How do you know it's true?" 

"Hey! Are you doubting Miss Sonia?" Soda frowned slightly and squinted a little at Kuzuryu. 

"Oh yes! I am most sure, after all I heard it from Miss Yukizome herself." Sonia cut in, ignoring Soda and turning slightly to Kuzuryu. 

"Did you hear their name?" Owari called out, pausing her attack on Nidai for a moment to listen in. 

"Ah, no, I'm afraid not, I only happened to overhear Miss Yukisome on the phone through the classroom doors yesterday." Sonia replied, smiling. "Though I think they are be arriving today!" 

Nagito couldn't help but smile at that, he wondered, what talent would this new student hold? What hope could they bring with them to add to his classmates who were already brimming with hope? Perhaps he would even be able to become their stepping stone towards bettering and further improving their talent. After all, to be accepted so late into the year, they must have quite the talent! 

Everyone had continued talking about the new student, suggesting talents they may have and expressing their excitement when the lights suddenly shone down on everyone, causing loud groans to erupt from the entire class, including Nagito himself this time round. 

Miss Yukizome clapped her hands together once and smiled, "Goodmorning class!" She said with a joyous tone as she stepped to the front and everyone took their seats. After the shuffling of seats and feet quieted down, she spoke again.

"I overheard your little chat before class, it's not polite to eavesdrop, Sonia." Though there was no real scolding to her tone and it was more of a passing comment than anything else.

"Since you all know, I suppose I shall just have your new classmate introduce himself!" 

Only now did everyone seem to notice the spikey haired boy hovering by the classroom door. He stood up a little straighter upon hearing Miss Yukizome address him and walked towards the board. Nagito watched him, looking at him from head to toe, he looked...Plain? Yet rather pretty, he supposed. The boy had a plain white shirt on, with a green tie which had some print of a lighter green on it, He stood about as tall as Nagito, no a little shorter than him. His face was rather round, with wide Hazel coloured eyes. He stood there for a moment before speaking.

"Hello, I am Hajime Hinata. Pleased to be joining your class, I hope we can become friends." He announced, then stood awkwardly for a moment longer, seemingly confused as to why everyone was still looking at him so expectedly, glancing back at Yukizome. 

"Your Talent, Hinata." She hissed at him. 

Hinata's face flushed as he realised. "O-oh, right, uhm...They said I was the Ultimate Hope, if that's what you mean..." He seemed embarrassed, laughing nervously before going to sit down. 

The Ultimate...Hope? Nagito's eyes lit up the moment he heard it, oh how blessed he felt to be in a classroom with someone called the Ultimate Hope, someone as insignificant and scummy as him gets to bask in the presence of the worlds shining hope? It felt surreal. 

~

Class passed almost the exact same way as it had in the reserve course, the main difference being that the two hours of studying going by much faster than previous days. It had taken Hajime almost three weeks to fully adapt well to having Izuru Kamakura’s talents and mind merge with his, at first both consciousnesses fought for dominance over their shared body, trying to repress the other. Eventually though, they had come to an agreement, Izuru would use his talents during classes or when something was needed of Hajime but would stay in the back of Hajime’s mind otherwise. 

Now that it had been 3 weeks, it was no longer that they were entirely different people, it was more of a change in the way Hajime used his brain. He had finally gotten used to being able to tap into the plethora of talents he possessed and he wasn’t entirely either consciousness anymore. It felt refreshing in an odd sense. 

As soon as recess rolled around, the class pounced on Hajime and surrounded his desk; everyone excluding Nanami who was already friends with him, and the white haired boy a few desks away, who seemed quite happy to watch from afar.

Questions popped up all around him, people introducing themselves and talking over one another. Hajime tried his best to answer them all, with little success. 

“What exactly does being the Ultimate Hope mean?” Owari asked, a confused look on her face. 

“Ah, Well-“ Hajime began but was cut off by the blonde girl with a kimono on, Saionji, was it? 

“It’s probably something like what Komaeda always rants on about!” She announced, making sure everyone heard her as she continued, pulling an innocent face as she spoke, “Hinata might be just like him, a weirdo!” 

Hajime blinked silently, looking at all of them. Which one was Komaeda..? Everyone had quieted down a little, until the redhead with a Camera spoke up. 

“Hiyoko! You shouldn’t say that,” She poked Saionji in the shoulder, then turned back to Hajime. “It’s not like Komaeda is crazy or anything, she’s just joking.” 

Hajime just smiled a little awkwardly, hoping someone would pipe up and introduce him to this Komaeda, before he had to ask. 

Then someone spoke up, “To be fair, I’m kinda curious why Komaeda wasn’t like, the first to introduce himself.” It was Soda, the boy with a bright green jumpsuit and bright pink hair down to his shoulders. “Afterall Komaeda, You’re always going on about hope and stuff, right?” 

Soda and everyone else had turned to face the White haired boy a few desk down, who seemed to flush a faint pink for a second before speaking up. 

“Ah, You see, I’m not worthy of even an introduction to someone as Hopeful and Bright as to be called the Ultimate Hope!” He said with a small laugh and a smile. “Seeing all you Ultimates together fills me with enough Hope than i could ever have dreamt of!” 

So...This was Komaeda...He understood what saionji had meant by Weirdo.

“Erm, You don’t have to be like that. I’m a normal guy, really, i’m quite plain.” Hajime protested, feeling a little uncomfortable with such odd and strange praise. 

“Well, if it would please you, i suppose i can introduce myself.” Komaeda said with a smile once more, he stood up and walked over to Hajime.

“Hello, I’m Nagito Komaeda, the Ultimate Lucky Student.” Hajime nodded and smiled politely.

“It’s nice to meet you Komaeda.” The interaction was weird, it felt quite forced and even more so with everyone watching them quite so silently. 

“I’ll leave you and everyone else be, i hardly deserve to take up so much of your time when there’s such talent and hope in front of you!” 

“What’d you mean by that?” 

“Ah, just that unlike everyone else, my talent can barely be called that. I‘m merely a stepping stone for you all. Trash like me doesn’t deserve the attention from someone as Hopeful as yourself!” Komaeda stated cheerily, as if it were a fact. 

“Komaeda, you’re in the class just like everyone else, right? I don’t really get what you’re saying..” Hajime had never been more confused by a person. This guy...he spoke so negatively about himself with such a cheery attitude. 

“Hinata, i’m certain you and you’re amazing talent of hope will only ever make this class shine even brighter! I’m positive that now you’re here, there is no despair possible that this class can’t overcome and I’m just great full scum such as me is able to see it up close.” Komaeda said, ending the conversation and sitting down at his desk once more. 

Hajime turned back around, a puzzled look written all over his face. It didn’t take long before everyone either dispersed into groups or began to talk to Hajime again. 

Later on, when Hajime asked, Nanami had told him that Komaeda has always been a little odd and obsessed with hope. 


	2. Fortune favours the bold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear i had a plan for this, but it’s pretty trashy so i’m making it up as i go now, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, it's a lot more of their interaction and I suppose this is where the gay starts?

Nagito had never stared at the back of someone’s head as much as he had been that day. He wanted so desperately to see Hinata’s talent in use, he didn’t want to pry his eyes off the other just in case he missed it. The Ultimate Hope, what exactly did that mean? Whatever it was, Nagito was captivated by it. 

The bell suddenly rang and Nagito was yanked out of his trancelike state. He sighed quietly as he watched Hinata stand up and pack up, then make his way over to Nanami, So they were friends huh? How lucky Nanami was, if only Nagito could have a sudden streak of good luck to let something so hopeful happen to him! 

Suddenly, Nagito realised he hadn’t taken many notes at all. He considered just leaving it be, after-all with his luck it was probably something they had all already learnt but then realised it would be a perfect way to insert himself into the conversation happening a few feet away from him. Nagito put all his books into his bag and stood up, Nanami was the Class Rep and Nagito liked to think he was on pleasant terms with her- so surely if he asked, Nanami would lend him her notes, right? 

He supposed there was only one way to see. He smiled softly to himself then casually made his way over to Nanami and Hinata. 

“Ah, Nanami-chan, It appears i was distracted all lesson and had forgotten to take any notes.” He began, holding the back of his neck and smiling as Nanami and Hinata looked to him as he continued, “I know it’s quite out of my boundaries for me to ask this but would it be possible at all for trash like me to borrow your notes?” 

“Hey, Hey, Komaeda.” Nanami replied, she smiled her polite smile at him, then looked down at her own notes. “Sorry, but i didn’t take any notes either, i’m not sure what the lesson was on...” She frowned, then smiled apologetically. 

Nagito raised his hands defensively. “No worries at all, Nanami-chan! I would have hardly been worthy of your help regardless!” He kept his smile, then stepped back a little. No more would come from this interaction, it seemed his luck had run dry of both bad and good right then. 

“I’ll be going first, Goodbye Nanami-chan, Hinata-san!” He said, turning around and beginning to walk off with a wave. 

Then, “Ah, Komaeda, wait a second.” Hinata called after him. Komaeda’s smile widened and his eyes lit up, before returning to normal as he turned around. 

“Yes, Hinata-san? Is something wrong?” He asked, walking back towards the two. 

“No, just that, well i can’t lend you my notes since i’d like to go over them later but if you’d like i could send you a photo of them?” Hinata suggested, the hint of a kind smile across his face. 

“Oh, Hinata-san that truly is so kind of you, i cannot express my gratitude!” Nagito began, he couldn’t believe it! 

“Erm, Sure, can i get your number or something then? So i can send it.” Hinata pulled his phone from his pocket and opened up his contacts, gesturing for him to input his number. Nagito nodded, taking the phone and adding his number as a contact then handing it back.

“I really cannot thank you enough, Hinata-san! It’s a blessing for you to be so considerate to scum like me.” 

“It’s fine, just some notes, man.” Hinata replied, laughing a little awkwardly. 

“Ah, of course. I’ll be on my way now. Farewell Hinata-san! You too, Nanami-chan.” Nagito said, nodding to the both of them before turning and walking away. 

Once out of the school grounds, Nagito couldn’t help but give himself a pat on the back and praise his luck! He simply couldn’t believe that the Ultimate Hope now has his number, not only that but Hinata had been the one to suggest it! 

Nagito couldn’t place it, but something about Hinata made his heart race a little bit faster than usual and it wasn’t just him being the Ultimate Hope either. If Nagito pictured Hinata’s face, he also felt his heart race just like when he spoke to him. It filled him with Hope. 

Then again, maybe that’s just what being in the presence the Ultimate Hope did to people?

~

Nanami gave Hajime a smile as soon as Komaeda had left the classroom. Hajime raised an eyebrow, “What?” 

“That was nice, Hajime.” She packed up her own things and turned on her console as the two began to walk out of class. 

“Was it? I just feel bad for the guy, he comes across as a complete weirdo.” Hajime protested. 

“Still, I dunno if you saw but Komaeda is kinda a loner,” Nanami looked up at Him before continuing, “He may seem weird and his idea’s are a little off but he’s a nice enough guy.” 

A little off is an understatement, Komaeda seemed completely off his head. Something about him made Hajime not just confused but a little angry, maybe it was the way he put Hajime and the other Ultimates on a pedestal while putting himself below them, maybe it was something else. 

“Sure, i just hope i don’t end up regretting having him know my number.” He replied, Hajime doubted Komaeda even had another person’s phone number, he was such an odd guy that he couldn't think of a single person like him.

After Hajime walked out of the school with Nanami, he went straight home to his dark and silent apartment. Neither his mom or father lived with him, infact they had been out of his life for the past two years and if he was honest, it was quite lonely. Of course, they'd been sending him fair amounts of money since they left and up until the project, had been paying his tuition fees. His apartment was nice enough, fully furnished and plenty of space but that only made it worse. Hajime had wanted to invite people to hang out with him for a long time but truth be told, he hadn't had many close friends since he started the reserve course. 

Hajime sighed as he checked his watch, he hadn't any work today and he had no homework either. That was funny, last semester Hajime had been drowning in work and assessments by the very first day but now he was a main course student, there wasn't any mention of it in class, nothing to hand in over breaks, nothing set either. He supposed it just greater showed the imbalance between how the two were treated. 

Making his way to his room, he thought deeply about what he could do that day. Normally, he would stick to his routine of go home, change, get to work/ do as much homework and study as he could cram in, cook, do more studying/go to his evening job, sleep. Now though, he had nothing to do. It was relaxing, yet it felt wrong.

Hajime flopped down onto his bed and shed his uniform sluggishly, he was exhausted despite having done nothing all day and decided he should just rest for a bit, setting an alarm for 30 minutes just in case. He lazily wriggled into the covered and let his eyes close.

When Hajime finally opened his eyes, the sun was setting and the alarm he'd set had been blaring loudly for the last 4 hours, shit. He hadn't realised he was so damn tired, he'd hardly be able to sleep tonight thanks to his nap. Sitting up groggily, he pulled out his phone.

3 Text messages, 2 snaps and 6 other notifications. Wow, he was popular.

[16:47] **Chiaki** : hey hey Hajime,, have u texted komaeda the notes yet ? 

[17:08] **Chiaki** : also, soda and some of the class want ur # 

[17:09] **Chiaki** : s it ok if I give it? 

[20:17] **You** : sorry I was asleep, yh that's fine, also not yet I'll do it now

[20:19] **Chiaki** : cool, u must b tired 

Hajime continued to text Nanami for a few more minute before he got up, stretching a little. He should probably send his notes to Komaeda before it got too late, he was probably already annoyed they were gonna be sent so late anyway. Hajime went through his contacts and found the unnamed number, he hoped, he should name it something so he knew from now on. He liked to name his contacts after something about the person, for example Nanami was under "Gaymer Girl" and his few other friends things similar to that. It took Hajime no time to come up with a nickname for Komaeda. After completing the contact with a silly image, he went to his desk and took a photo of his notes, then texted the number. 

[20:38] **You** : Hey, is this Komaeda? It's Hajime Hinata

Hajime expects at least ten minutes to pass before he got a reply but instead, those three dots appeared and Komaeda replied instantly. 

[20:38] **Marshmallow** : Hi Hinata! It's me :) !

[20:38] **You** : Wow, fast reply

[20:39] **Marshmallow** : Haha I guess :P

[20:39] **You** : Anyway, here's my notes from class

****

He had not been expecting that. The way Komaeda typed was...something. It was almost cute, way more outgoing than he seemed in person and almost girlish. Way different from Nanami, who used more shortcuts and less emojis. Yet another puzzling thing about Komaeda.

****

[20:40] **Marshmallow** : thank you sooo much Hinata !! 

****

[20:40] **Marshmallow** : youre so kind （＾ν＾）

****

[20:40] **Marshmallow** : not that I expect anything different from the ultimate hope

****

[20:40] **Marshmallow** : its so great I can even talk to someone as outstanding as you !

****

Oh, god. He used no punctuation apart from exclamation marks, he had emojis in almost every message and he sent multiple messages instead of one. Hajime couldn't stand talking to these kinds of people. Yet, for some reason, Hajime couldn't help but reply. 

****

[20:41] **You** : Its fine man, seriously it's not a big deal, I'm just like the rest of you guys  


****

[20:41] **Marshmallow** : haha! that's not true  


****

[20:41] **Marshmallow** : youre the ultimate hope so that makes you shine ten times as bright as anyone else !! :D  


****

[20:41] **Marshmallow** : especially trash like me and other talentless people  


****

[20:41] **Marshmallow** : sorry this is probably annoying  


****

[20:42] **Marshmallow** : you probably have better things to do than text a trashy nobody like me (*´-`)  


****

[20:42] **You** : Not really, I haven't got anything to do all evening, infact I was sleeping until 20 minutes ago  


****

[20:42] **Marshmallow** : really !?  


****

[20:42] **Marshmallow** : id have thought someone as amazing as you would be suuuuper busy Σ('◉⌓◉’)  


****

[20:42] **Marshmallow** : im so lucky you have time for me ^v^  


****

[20:43] **You** : haha, you are the ultimate lucky student huh  


****

[20:43] **Marshmallow** : sure as heck am !! (=´∀｀)  


****

****

****

[20:43] **Marshmallow** : anyways, what ya doin ??

****

****

****

It was quite a startling change, Komaeda's way of typing that was, not that Hajime minded. In fact, he ended up texting with Komaeda until way later into the night than he thought he would, from 8:38pm 12:30am was a damn long time to be talking to someone you hardly knew. 

****

****

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was SO fun to write Nagito's texting style, it's just a hc I have but I really think he uses those emojis and types like that,, mostly cause I do too,, Anyway, next chapter will have a little time skip (and more gay..? )
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated! 
> 
> Thank God for Covid-19, else i never would have even gotten into danganronpa or written this,


	3. It's not like that

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I lied, no time skip, BUT there's a lil bit of gay. 
> 
> Reader can have little gay, as a treat

The next day, instead of being woken by his alarm, he was woken by a string of texts from Komaeda. He yawned, rubbing his eyes and checking the time. It was only 10 minutes until his alarm went off but he was mostly awake now, plus he would feel bad ignoring Komaeda's texts when he knew they were there. 

[06:50] **Marshmallow** : Good morning Hinata ! （＾ν＾）  
[06:50] **Marshmallow** : are you awake yet?  
[06:50] **Marshmallow** :it's a bit early  
[06:50] **Marshmallow** : i think  
[06:51] **Marshmallow** : this is probably annoying ( ﾟдﾟ)  
[06:51] **Marshmallow** : sorry hinata,,, ( ; _ ; )  
[06:51] **You** : morning komaeda, yea, it's a little early but my alarms gonna go off in 10 anyways so don't worry lol  
[06:52] **Marshmallow** : (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀) aaaa, i woke hinata up ;-;  
[06:52] **Marshmallow** : im so sorry hinata I didn't mean to,,  
[06:52] **You** : it's really fine man, don't worry, I don't mind, at least now I have a little extra time to just relax  
[06:53] **You** : I have to get ready now though, see you in school Komaeda  
[06:53] **Marshmallow** : yes of course!  
[06:53] **Marshmallow** : sorry to keep you  
[06:53] **Marshmallow** : see you in school （＾∇＾）

Sighing, Hajime put his phone down and stretched. He stood up and groaned, then began changing for school and readying himself for the day.  
~ 

Hajime walked into class and was almost instantly greeted with a cheerful Komaeda, whose face lit up the moment Hajime locked eyes with him as he walked inside.

"Hinata-San, Good morning." Komaeda smiled, waving a little. Hajime couldn't help but admit it was nice to actually be greeted when someone saw him. Even if that person was Komaeda. 

"Hey, Komaeda." He replied with a polite smile, ignoring the confused glances of his classmates. Hajime himself was a little confused, but he supposed that if you text someone all night and get a good morning text from them too, they're obviously going to greet you in person too. 

Komaeda looked away, turning his head down and looking at his desk Intensely, letting his wild, white mess of hair cover his face. Hajime guessed that was the end of that interaction and made his way over to Nanami's desk, sitting backwards in the chair in front of it. 

"Mornin' Chiaki." Hajime said as he yawned a little and rested his chin on his hand. 

"Hey, hey, good morning, Hajime." Nanami replied, looking up from her console and pressing pause. Hajime looked down at the screen, a little cartoon dog in a green vest and skirt paused mid sentence. 

"What are you playing today?" He asked, gesturing at the dog.

Nanami turned the console around so Hajime could see it a little better. "Animal Crossings! It came out a few days ago and everyone's been obsessed over it, it's different from what I usually play but the graphics are really nice and it's pretty cute." 

She began, Hajime could see from her face and the twinkle in her eyes that she was about to get into the more complicated stuff like game mechanics and such. He smiled, it was nice when Nanami got so excited over her games. Nanami had just begun talking about playing multiplayer with Hajime and something about visiting her island when Soda walked over and interrupted. Nanami puffed out her cheeks and frowned with an annoyed look on her face as she stared at Soda.

"Yoo, Hinata not to pry but when'd you get so friendly with Komaeda? You seemed pretty awkward around him yesterday 's all I was thinkin'.." Soda said quietly as he crouched down and looked expectantly at Hajime. 

"What?" Hajime asked, confused. 

"Oh, it's true though, Hajime.. You even greeted eachother this morning." Nanami pointed out, the look on her face disappearing and being replaced by a look of curiosity. 

"So you _are_ friends!" Soda's eyes widened a little. 

"What!? No! We're not friends, it's just..." Hajime didn't really know what to say, could he really say they were friends even though they only knew eachother a day, he couldn't, could he? What else could he say? They were aquatences? No that was too formal. How would he label it then? 

Without realising it, Hajime had been watching Komaeda while he thought it over. 

"It's just what? You've been staring at him for almost a minute.." Nanami poked Hajime's cheek lightly. Soda suddenly gasped. 

"Hinata! Could it be..? I didn't know you were like that!" Soda hissed quietly. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!" He announced.

"H-hold on, what? Tell anyone what?" Hajime was so confused, he shook his head a little and raised an eyebrow. 

"Oh Hinata, don't play dumb, I figured it out !" Soda chuckled a little, then whispered even quieter than he was talking before. "That you have a crush on Komaeda!" 

"Wha- Wait what?! I don't! What the hell are you talking about?!" Hajime protested, holding his hands up in defense and jumping back in his seat at the accusation. He felt his face getting hotter, as his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

"I gotta ask though, why Komaeda of all people?" Soda asked, grinning as he teased Him. 

"I- I already said it's not like that!" He protested again, lightly pushing Soda away, who was laughing like mad. 

"I'm kidding, dude, kidding!" Soda said through his laughs, "Man, you should see your face! You're so red!" He continued laughing, Hajime looked away and hid his face in his hands. Though his eyes then drifted over to Komaeda, who was still looking down at his table and fidgeting with his hand. Komaeda must have somehow noticed Hajime staring because after a moment or two, he looked up and waved in their direction. This only caused Hajime to blush harder and swiftly turn back to Soda. 

"Sh-Shut up, Soda." Hajime said before Soda even had a chance to comment on what just happened. 

~

Komaeda hadn't spoken to him since morning, not during recess or lunch break, not even after school. It bothered Hajime and that in itself bothered him even more. Why should he care, Komaeda was the one that wanted to talk to him before so it hardly mattered to Hajime, right? 

Agh, whatever! It didn't matter, not at all. 

Hajime walked home with Nanami again, they'd been walking from school together since a little while after they met the previous semester. Right now, Nanami had begun talking about the game she was playing this morning, animal crossers or whatever it was. It's not like Hajime didn't care about his friends interests, he was usually much more tuned in but today he was way too busy thinking over what Soda had said in the morning. A crush on Komaeda. That was ridiculous! Even if you ignored the fact he barely knew the guy, Hajime had never actually had a crush before. 

The closest he'd come to a crush was when he'd first met Nanami, but he'd later come to find it wasn't a romantic feeling at all and that Hajime was just overly happy to have made a good friend for once rather than just a classmate he occasionally talked to. So there was no damn way he had anything close to a crush on Komaeda, he was just confused and interested in the guy more than anything. 

Suddenly a hand waved in front of his face, Nanami's hand to be exact. Ah, he'd been thinking too hard and completely zoned out.

"Hey Hajime.." She frowned, puffing out her cheeks and booped Hajime's nose. "You okay?" 

"...Yea, sorry, yea I'm fine. Just thinking, haha." He replied after clearing his head and looking back at Nanami.

"What about?"

"Mm, doesn't matter." 

"Alright." 

They walked quietly again for a moment before Nanami perked up again. "Ah, Hajime! I was thinking, maybe if you get it, you can help me out with watering my flowers, since that means there's a biggest chance of getting good hybrids." Nanami said, looking up at him with her usual smile. 

"Oh, I don't even have the console, Chiaki.." Hajime frowned slightly, looking back at her.

"Right, sorry, I'd forgotten. Is rent tough at the moment?" 

"It's not that, I'm just trying to save up at the moment, I don't want to rely on my parents forever." Hajime looked down at his feet. 

"It's too bad your birthday's already passed, I could've given you one. Then we could play a ton of games even when we aren't together." She said, frowning again. 

Hajime was thankful for her changing the subject, even if only a little. 

As soon as Hajime got inside his apartment, he checked the time, only 30 minutes until his afternoon shift at his part time job started. He quickly dashed up to his room and changed out of his school uniform, into his casual clothes and then splashed his face with a little water in hopes it would make him look a little less tired. 

Just as he was about to leave after grabbing his coat, his phone began to buzz from notifications. He pulled it from his pocket and checked it. 

**[Marshmallow: you there hina... READ MORE]**

Hajime cursed under his breath, Sorry Komaeda but Hajime only had 10 minutes to get to his workplace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is mostly world building, but I'm planning to write another one tonight


	4. A nice vanilla Latte

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clear some things up:
> 
> -Hajime lives alone, his parents are overseas and have been for 2 years  
> \- Nagito is sick, however he doesn't have to be in the hospital 24/7 at this point, he just visits for checkups and appointments every week  
> -Hajime has known Chiaki for only a few months, but they are on first name bases.  
> \- Hajime has heterochromia, he wears green contacts to work and school  
> -Nagito's parents are dead, everything he mentioned in FTE applies except he has longer to live because in this fic, he found out much sooner.

Nagito sat on the bus, anxiously staring at his phone and waiting for a reply, even just a seen would be fine, awful but better than nothing. 

Hinata hadn't talked to him at all in school, not after their slightly awkward good mornings to eachother. Not since he caught Hinata looking at him with such an annoyed face from across the classroom. Nagito must have sacred him off, what was it he said? It must have been last night, or maybe Hinata was actually really angry that Nagito had woken him up that morning and had just lied in his text? He wouldn't blame Hinata if it was that- not that he had the right to blame him anyway, since Hinata was a true Ultimate with the talent of hope and Nagito was just the ground for him to trample on. 

[16:52] **You** : hii hinata ! (^o^)/  
[16:52] **You** : how are you? 

Nothing. That's fine, Hinata must just be really busy. If Nagito had shopping he'd needed to do that day, someone like Hinata probably also had shopping, or maybe something more important. Nagito knew that, he wasn't being ignored, he wasn't.

[16:54] **You** : you there hinata ? (´･_･`)

[17:44] **You** : oh ! are you sleeping ?  
[17:44] **You** : you were asleep this time yesterday,,  
[17:45] **You** : do you sleep after school every day ? (ﾟoﾟ;;  
[17:45] **You** : if that's it I'm probably waking you,,,  
[17:45] **You** : sorry if I do,,

Nagito closed his phone, staring out of the bus window as his stop came closer. He shouldn't be so selfish, he knew he wasn't worth Hinata's time and had it been anyone else, Nagito never pushed his luck with it, after all he'd said it a million times before but he was no where near close enough to being good enough to truly be anywhere near the other Ultimates. 

Yet Hinata had been so kind as to take time out of his day to talk to him yesterday, it had been so wonderful to have such a regular conversation with someone. Nagito desperately wanted to talk to him again, he wanted to know more about Hinata too. He'd been so disappointed when he looked up from his desk that morning and Hinata had already left, he must have seen how everyone else was looking at him for just talking to Nagito, not that he blamed them. 

Nagito got up from his seat as the bus slowed to a halt, letting him and a few other passengers off. The street was practically empty despite it being 6pm on a Tuesday and the Cafés and shops were still open, although he supposed it was extremely cold for some strange reason, he was originally planning to just go straight home after he went shopping but it was cold enough to justify a nice vanilla latte. First though, he needed a new jumper, he looked around at his options before going inside the closest clothes store. 

Half an hour later and Nagito had bought more than just a new jumper, in fact he had 3 bags worth of clothing he'd bought. He justified it by reminding himself that he'd recently grown taller and half of his clothes didn't actually fit him anymore. Sighing at his questionable choices, he looked around at the Cafés, there were 3 to choose from.

Option 1 was a small building, the sign was worn and it looked like it needed repainting.  
Option 2 was larger, it was a chain café and Nagito didn't like their coffee, they got his order wrong every time.  
Option 3 was large, not as big as the chain Café but larger than 1, it was painted a pastel mint and the sign outside was written with cute illustrations on it. 

Nagito almost laughed, it was hardly a choice. He walked down the street and into the third café. The inside was just as visually pleasing, with the same pastel mint colored seats, white tables and cute miniature bushes on every wall that separated the booths. It wasn't too busy with only half the booths filled, not to mention almost every customer was a girl, or if they weren't, they were being accompanied by one. Nagito went over to a booth by himself in the corner and sat down, then just as he did, it suddenly began to rain heavily outside. Very typical of his luck!

Putting down his bags next to him, Nagito found himself pulling out his phone and staring at the lack of notifications, he didn't want to think about it anymore but he couldn't help it. Since when had he become this selfish as to yearn for attention from someone so much? This feeling of being ignored, he'd never cared before, it had never mattered until now. For a moment he considered sending another text, but talked himself out of it in fear of being even more annoying than he obviously already was. 

He needed to relax, there was no reason this was any different from any other time he was unwanted, Hinata was even more important and special than anyone else, so it was obvious he was far too good to talk to a nasty, trashy worm like Nagito. He should let it go, he had to let it go.

"Hi there, Welcome. What can I get you today?" A cheery voice said from next to him, then it spoke again, less cheerful this time. "Komaeda?!..." 

Nagito turned to see Hinata dressed in a white button up, black trousers and wearing a pastel mint waist apron and matching small mint ribbon in his hair, holding a pad and pen. Hinata's face flushed a bright shade of red, suddenly Nagito got the feeling he was seeing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Wh-What the Hell are you doing here, how did you know about this?!" Hinata hissed at him, trying to hide his face behind his pad of paper. 

"Hinata-San! Hello, I had no idea you worked here, such an amazing coincidence!" Nagito finally answered, smiling only half as much as he wanted to. "I only wanted to get a coffee, and yet I happened to run into you, how lucky I really am!"

"...R-right, sorry." Hinata coughed and cleared his throat before speaking up again. "So, what can I get you?" 

Nagito felt awful about making Hinata get him a drink, even though it was his job, he felt as though it was wrong of him to order from him. Nevertheless, he was starting to get thirsty. "A vanilla latte, please Hinata-san." 

Hinata nodded, writing it down on his paper. "Anything else?" 

He thought for a moment, he wondered if it was okay for him to ask. Maybe Hinata would find it rude if he did though...

"What time do you get off work?" He held his breath, hoping Hinata wouldn't just walk away.

"Quarter to seven," Hinata glanced at the time on Nagito's phone screen. "so in 10 minutes, why?" 

"If I'm still here, would you care to sit with me for a bit?" Nagito dared ask, exhaling quietly and biting the inside of his cheek.

Hinata hummed for a moment, pursing his lips and thinking before he answered the other. "Sure, why not." He smiled politely, "I'll go get your drink." 

With that, Hinata walked off towards the kitchen and left Nagito to think. He found himself still looking at the spot the other boy was stood, smiling widely to himself, he turned away and giggled a little. Amazing, truly amazing. His luck had been on a incline whenever it came to Hinata and although he knew that at some point, his luck would spiral down and he would potentially lose something important, or cause a horrible incident, at that moment he couldn't find reason enough to be displeased. He pondered if he should ask Hinata about what happened in the morning but decided against it, he probably didn't want to talk about it with Nagito. So, for about 10 minutes, Nagito sat at the table and scrolled through his instagram before hearing footsteps return to his table. He looked up to see Hinata once more, only now he was wearing a worn red flannel shirt over a thin hoodie and the ribbon that had been in his hair was gone. 

****

He was carrying two drinks, a latte and a hot chocolate, with him. Placing one in front of Nagito, then sliding into the seat opposite him and placing the hot chocolate down. "Thanks for waiting, sorry my shift took a little too long." Hinata said as he picked up his cup and took a sip. 

****

"Its fine, don't worry." Nagito replied, smiling and putting his phone away. "So, you work here? I would never have thought the ultimate hope would work in a café!" 

****

"Ah, yea. To be fair though, I had no clue about their uniform when I went for the job." Hinata replied, laughing a little and blushing slightly.

****

Nagito recalled the uniform, "I never thought I'd see you in an outfit like that either, it was very cute." He spoke without thinking, "The outfit, that is." He corrected himself, feeling his cheeks heat up a little as he looked down at his drink. He doubted that a nobody like him, calling Hinata cute would make him happy at all. He would probably be disgusted. 

****

"Hah, yeah, definitely not something I would wear on the regular." Hinata laughed again. His laugh was sweet, it made Nagito want to cuddle up to something and smile, amazing, everything about Hinata was like that. 

****

Nagito then remembered something, "Not that it's my right to question you at all...but I thought students working was against Hope's Peaks rules? Though I suppose you are new, there's no way you'd have known." He drank his latte, hoping once again that he hadn't said something out of line. 

****

"Oh, yea, I know...You won't tell anyone about this, will you? You and Chiaki are the only ones who know about any of my jobs..." 

****

Oh! Him and Nanami were there only ones? He truly had seen something he wasn't supposed to then. It felt slightly exciting to know something that secretive about Hinata, there was no way on earth he would ever tell anyone about! 

****

"Of course not, Hinata-san. I wouldn't even consider it, there's no reason for me to question why either. Your business is your own." 

****

Hinata smiled, a thankful look in his eye. "Thank you, Komaeda, it really means a lot." He took another sip of his drink then picked something off the side of his plate and tossed it gently to Nagito, who caught it easily. "Here, you can have this." 

****

Nagito looked at what he'd been tossed. A small marshmallow sat in the palm of his hand, luckily it was the nice kind too.  
"Don't you want it?" He asked, grateful for it but also not wanting to be selfish enough to take it from Hinata if he had wanted it. 

****

Hinata shook his head a little, "Nah, I don't like marshmallows. They put them with all the hot chocolates though and I forgot to put it back." 

****

"Oh, Thank you, Hinata-san." Nagito smiled and ate the squishy sweet. Nagito wasn't actually a massive fan of sweet foods but he didn't want to let it go to waste or accidentally hurt Hinata's feelings somehow. 

****

"You can stop doing that, you know?" 

****

"Doing what, Hinata-san?" Nagito cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, a little confused as to what Hinata had meant. 

****

" _That,_ Using an honorific. I'm In the same year as you, same class and same school. We're equals, I'm not your boss." Hinata frowned a little bit as he drank. 

****

"Ah but Hinata-san, we aren't equals at all! You may not see it but you're far more important than I am. You can bring hope to those around you, I can't do something like that. I'm hardly even worthy of talking to you, I'm just one step above the rest of these talentless people. Hope is very important and you personify that hope. Please understand, I mean it only in the best way possible." 

****

Hinata didn't say anything for a moment, just staring at Nagito with a confused look on his face. "I don't think I'll ever understand that, Komaeda. All I'm saying is that I don't want you to think so highly of me. It's fine, I guess though. I'm not gonna order you to drop it if you don't want to." He smiled, a sort of lost, sad and confused look coating his expression. It almost pained him to see Hinata looking at him like that. 

****

"So, Hinata-san," Nagito began, changing the subject as quickly as he could so that he could get rid of that expression. "You're friends with Nanami-chan, right?" 

****

And so the conversation changed. 

****

~ 

****

Hajime talked to Komaeda for almost two full hours, at first it was only because it was raining so heavily he hadn't wanted to get wet since he'd left his umbrella at home but as time went on, Hajime found himself enjoying their conversation when it steered clear of any topics like 'hope' or Komaeda's self deprecation. It was only when Hajime got a look from the manager that he realised the shop was completely empty aside from the two of them and that it was closing time. He looked outside the windows, it was still pouring out there and there was no chance he wouldn't get soaked. 

****

"Ah, Komaeda, I think we should probably get out of here." Hajime said, interrupting the comfortable silence that sat between them. Komaeda looked up from his phone and then turned to see the manager, he nodded and stood up. Hajime watched as Komaeda dug through his bags and pulled out his wallet, leaving a considerably good tip for the drinks, as well as paying for Hajime's and his own. 

****

"You don't have to do that, I can pay for my own." Hajime said, pulling money out of his own wallet only for Komaeda to push it away and shake his head. 

****

"Don't worry about it, Hinata-san." 

****

Hajime was hesitant but it was clear Komaeda wasn't going to give up, so he put his money away and began to walk to the door with Komaeda a few steps behind him. 

****

When they were outside, Komaeda pulled out an umbrella and opened it up, he over to Hajime and cocked his head slightly. "Did you not bring an umbrella with you, Hinata-san?" 

****

Hajime shook his head, feeling a little foolish. "I'd forgotten to check the forecast today, I had no clue it would rain like this." He laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck. 

****

"Here." Komaeda said as he moved closer to Hajime and held the umbrella over the two of them. "I'll go with you, hopefully you live along the way to my bus." Hajime felt their shoulders brush as Komaeda began walking further into the street. "Which way?" 

****

"Oh, this way, I don't live far, only about 8 minutes." Hajime didn't know how he felt about Komaeda knowing where he lived, although he was sure Komaeda wasn't strange enough to go to the lengths of stalking Hajime or trying to kill him or something, he was still a slightly strange guy. It was odd, he found himself wanted to understand Komaeda, to understand what made the boy think so strangely. 

****

So they began the walk to Hajime's, walking mostly in a comfortable silence with a few comments about the rain or such things until they got there. 

****

Hajime smiled as he stopped outside of his apartment building. "This was fun, Komaeda, thanks again for walking me back." He said, turning to the other. 

****

Komaeda smiled back at him, "Of course, I'm glad I was able to be useful to someone as hope inspiring as you." They both stood there for a second, almost uncomfortably close to each other. 

****

"I'll see you tomorrow, text you later." 

****

"Yes, definitely, Goodbye Hinata-san." Hajime turned and quickly walked towards the door, trying to get under the shelter and keep as dry as possible. He turned around to see Komaeda waving as he watched, Hajime waved back as he went inside. He closed the door quickly and made his way to his apartment. 

****

As soon as he was inside, he became sluggish and ran out of all energy he'd had before, he felt his stomach rumble a little and realised he hadn't eaten since 12:30. Something quick, he decided as he changed out of his slightly soggy clothes- as much as he had tried, he'd managed to get drenched on his shoulders and the top of his head. He went to his kitchen as soon as he changed shirts and started the stove. Today had been...nice for lack of a better word, Komaeda was pleasant enough to talk to when it came to everyday talk, he was definitely alright with hanging out with him again. 

****

Hajime began cooking, with his phone out on the countertop, just waiting for that text he knew was coming.

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make this one longer for you guys, also finally at least part chapter from Nagito's perspective ;0;  
> might be a lil gayer too hahaha. 
> 
> I swear the prompt for this fic will come into play soon enough. I just want to build up the start of their relationship more or the main prompt won't make an ounce of sense hah
> 
> ig: @warcriminalnagito  
> art ig:@warcrinimal.en


	5. Not feeling up to it

The rest of the week went on without anything massive happening, Hajime and Komaeda texted eachother everyday, sharing memes and random conversations between the two of them, it was pleasant and had come naturally after their first few conversations. Komaeda never talked to Hajime in school though, he steered clear of him apart from casual greetings in the mornings or saying goodbye. Hajime couldn't place why, but he also didn't want to push Komaeda and so he left it alone. 

The week after was the same, except Hajime met up with Komaeda on Tuesday after his work. Komaeda didn't come to school on Wednesday, but texted Hajime all the same and when asked said the reason he was absent was because he was sick but assured Hajime he would be in the next day. He was, on Thursday Komaeda was in school. Yet again they didn't speak, apart from Hajime commenting positively on his return, they then texted all night again. On Friday, Komaeda asked to meet up with Hajime and hang out somewhere, He agreed and they met up after Hajime's afternoon shift at the library. They went to the mall and went shopping for a few hours, Komaeda offering to buy various things for Hajime, who politely declined. On Saturday, they texted throughout the day when Hajime wasn't at work or busy cleaning his apartment. On Sunday, Hajime invited Komaeda to the movies with him, Komaeda hesitantly agreed but only on the conditions he could treat Hajime to a meal after. They ended up watching an awful romcom and eating at WacDonalds afterwards. 

The next week was the same: they texted daily; met up on Tuesday; Komaeda was absent on Wednesday; Hajime checked up on him on Thursday; They went to the mall on Friday; texted on Saturday; watched a movie and went for food together on Sunday.

And on it went, every week was more or less the same. Hajime had grown used to this pattern, it was their tradition by now but that didn't mean he ever got bored of it or disliked it. Hanging out with Komaeda turned out to be the highlights of his weeks. Sometimes he would meet up with members of the rest of the class on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays, or spend a day gaming at Nanami's house but he always kept his schedule clear for Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays free. Hajime considered Komaeda one of his closest friends, right next to Nanami but further above Soda and Kuzuryu. Hell, he'd even managed to finally get him to drop the use of honorifics when he said Hajime's name.

Four months had passed by of Komaeda and him hanging out or texting everyday, so why did he feel so awkward right now? 

~

Nagito listened carefully as Ms. Yukizome called out names and designated them a new seat. It was a new semester and Ms. Yukizome always changed the seating arrangement at the beginning of each semester, supposedly so the class would 'socialise with every memeber'. Nagito was well aware this was aimed mainly towards him, since apart from the occasional casual conversation just before class, he hardly spoke to any of his classmates besides Kuzuryu. And of course Hinata, but no one knew of their friendship. Nagito had decided not to talk to Hinata at school, he decided he didn't want to ruin the other's reputation with his disgusting presence. 

"Lets see...Komaeda!" Ms. Yukizome said, pointing at one of the back row desks, "and then, Hinata next to him." 

Nagito felt his heart jump as he looked over to Hinata, who had kept a neutral expression the entire time the teacher had been speaking. 

"Poor Hinata, having to sit that close to a guy like Komaeda!" Saionji spoke up quietly, nudging Nagito's arm and laughing to herself, only to then be nudged gently by Koizumi which shut her up. 

"Yes, poor Hinata indeed." Nagito said, he felt so ashamed, he couldn't believe his awful luck was going to tarnish Hinata's reputation even though Nagito had tried his hardest not to. This must be the start of his bad luck cycle, he was sure of it. He had to keep completely clear of Hinata until it was over- he didn't want to ruin the friendship he had finally found.

No one else had cared enough about Nagito to even attempt to befriend him, or to try and break down his walls like Hinata had. He truly treasured what he had with Hinata. 

Which was another reason he hadn't wanted to sit next to him. Lately, Nagito had been thinking much more about doing things with Hinata, things that normal friends didn't do. Things like holding hands when they walked around together, like sharing a drink in a Café, like leaning on Hinata's shoulder when they watched films together, like kissing his soft looking lips, like laying next to him, like cuddling together during a storm, like-

No, that was enough of those thoughts. Nagito knew how he felt about Hinata, he also knew it would pass and that he would go back to not having such selfish thoughts. He knew that a brilliant and hope inspiring guy like Hinata wouldn't settle for a dirty, selfish, self-loathing piece of shit like him. So he didn't want to try, because he knew he didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve someone as nice as Hinata and yet, there he was, sat right next to Nagito. 

He didn't speak, he couldn't. He felt like if he did, he would accidentally expose their friendship to the entire class or even expose himself. Hinata had tried to say somethin every now and then but Nagito somehow found it in him to ignore it and finally had simply said. "I'm sorry Hinata, I'm feeling rather unwell today." 

Hinata didn't try to talk to him for the rest of the day. 

~

When he got home, Nagito felt twice as awful as he had when he was at school. He felt completely drained of energy, more so than usual, he'd been far too worked up and upset the entire day and it was finally catching up to him. He shrugged off his school blazer and shakily made his way up to his room. 

Nagito hesitated for a moment, considering just taking a nap in his school clothes but decided against it and changed into some comfortable clothes before gently crawling into his invitingly warm bed. He closed his eyes and felt himself sink into the sheets, relaxing and drifting to sleep. Only to then be pulled from his state of relaxation by the loud sound of his ringer going off. Specifically the sound of a text notification. 

[16:13] **Hope ♡** : Hey, Komaeda, you're still up for 5 right? 

What? Up for 5? What did that mean? Then it dawned on him, he checked his calendar. It was a Friday, he was supposed to be meeting Hinata at the library at 5. 

[16:14] **You** : Hinata im so so so sorry  
[16:14] **You** : i know it's a friday but I really can't today  
[16:14] **You** : ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡  
[16:15] **Hope ♡** : Oh, that's fine, there's always next week  
[16:15] **Hope ♡** : Btw, are you okay Komaeda?  
[16:15] **You** : oh hinata please don't worry about me  
[16:16] **You** : I'm okay just really tired today  
[16:16] **You** : I don't think I have the energy to go out is all  
[16:16] **Hope ♡** : oh  
[16:16] **Hope ♡** : If that's all, why didn't you just say  
[16:17] **Hope ♡** : Do you want to come over to mine at 5 instead?  
[16:17] **You** : you don't have to do that for me  
[16:17] **Hope ♡** : Yeah, but I want to see you today  
[16:17] **Hope ♡** : We can just watch Netflix in my living room if you want?

He wanted to see him? Hinata actually... _wanted_ to see him? Enough to invite him to his house? 

[16:19] **Hope ♡** : Komaeda? 

Oh! He'd been so shocked he forgot to answer.

[16:19] **You** : if you're sure, then that would be nice  
[16:19] **Hope ♡** : Okay, I have to go back to work, my breaks over but I'll come pick you up at 10 past 5  
[16:20] **You** : okie see you then （＾∇＾）/☆！！

Nagito felt himself smile and he hugged his phone close to his chest. He still couldn't believe Hinata cared enough about him to ask after him, he felt so happy. Hinata had visited Nagito's home a few times before, maybe 4 or so when neither of them had felt up to going out but still wanted to hang out, Nagito had always been the one to suggest it and so naturally Hinata had always come to his, so it felt new for Nagito to be going over to Hinata's instead. 

He wondered if maybe Hinata's parents were there, he had always wondered about Hinata's parents. Nagito had assumed they were both busy most of the time, since He always had time to hang out with Nagito. He also assumed they were less financially stable, since Hinata had to work a lot too, so perhaps they would be working? Oh well, he would find out in time enough. 

Nagito looked at his phone, it was 25 minutes past 4, he had 45 minutes. As long as he made sure he would wake up, he could afford to nap for at least 35 minutes. So, setting an alarm and then nestling back under the covers, Nagito closed his eyes and drifted off to a light sleep.

The alarm startled him as he woke up, not entirely rested and feeling slightly more tired than before. Regardless, Hinata would be coming to get him in 10 minutes, he had to get ready. Nagito pulled himself up from his bed and stretched a little as he walked to his closet and began to pick an outfit, he always took care picking his outfits when he knew he would see Hinata, he wanted to make sure he was presentable no matter what. So, looking through his options, he picked out a slightly baggy light yellow turtleneck and some dark blue jeans and set them down on his bed before going to the bathroom and gently washing his face. 

Ten minutes later and Nagito was sitting on his couch, waiting for the doorbell to finally ring. As soon as it did, Nagito grabbed his jacket and slipped his phone in his pocket before opening the door to a tired but happy looking Hinata. 

"Komaeda, hey, you ready to go?" Hinata asked, giving Nagito a look once over and smiling at him. Nagito nodded, stepping out and locking the door behind him then shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and following Hinata to the cab parked just outside. 

"Thank you, again, Hinata." Nagito said as he got in one side of the taxi, looking to Hinata as he got in on the other side. "I know just hanging out like this isn't as much fun as the mall but.."  
Hinata shook his head at him as the cab began to drive off. 

"Nonsense, I enjoy whatever it is we do." The other said, smiling once more before leaning back into the car seat and sighing. 

The journey there was short enough and they sat in a comfortable silence, then Hinata payed the Taxi driver and the two of them went inside his apartment building. 

Nagito wasn't sure what he expected as he walked into Hinata's apartment, he looked around as he followed the brunet boy inside. It was nicely furnished but also looked completely unused in some parts, but it was kept clean enough that no dust could be spotted. He took off his shoes and hung his jacket on the coat rack, then followed Hinata inside and into the living room. Nagito watched as Hinata sat down and relaxed onto the couch, then patted the space next to him. "Any particular reason you didn't want to go out today?"

Nagito cautiously sat down next to him, not too close that it could be deemed strange but also not so far it would also be strange, then shrugged a little. "Just...felt exhausted." 

Hinata nodded, "I get that." then smiled a little. "Hey, Komaeda..."

"Yes, Hinata?"

"You're not...mad at me, are you?"

Nagito stifled a gasp, but shook his head almost immediately. "No!...I mean, I could never be mad at you, Hinata!"

"You're not? Ah, alright, that's good."

"Why would you think that?" 

Hinata bit his lip and looked away for a second, "Just, in school, you seemed like you didn't want to sit next to me...I thought I did something wrong haha." Hinata laughed a little awkwardly at the end. "I'm glad its not that, though." 

Oh, Nagito looked down and fumbled with his fingers, he hadn't meant for Hinata to feel like that because of him. He'd only wanted to protect Hinata's reputation! 

"Anyway, now that's out of the way, what'd you wanna watch?" Hinata spoke up after a minute, grabbing the TV buttons from the coffee table in front of him and turning on the screen, starting Netflix up immediately. Nagito smiled a little to himself and shuffled a little closer to Hinata, then began to look for movies with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Started this at 12am, finished it at 5am on the dot \\(>^< )/
> 
> so now we have Nagito realising he's a homo,, when will Hajime figure his feelings out? that's a secret I'll tell by next chapter xoxo stupid gay kinnie 
> 
> ig: @warcriminalnagito  
> art ig: @warcriminal.en 
> 
> I drew some stuff for the fic, I'll probably end up adding it to a chapter notes at some point or leaving a link.


	6. Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im so sorry I'm late with this one. I wrote it over two days and its extra long because I just couldn't help myself this time. lots of world building in this one but also a LOT of gay ! I'm sorry if there's any mistakes, I don't have anyone to proofread and I'm far too tired to reread it tonight.

Hajime flicked through films, waiting for Komaeda to pick something before putting it on and relaxing into the couch. Komaeda had picked a trashy so-bad-it's-good romcom, he seemed to enjoy those recently, Hajime had noticed. From all the times the two had been to the cinema together, he liked to think he knew what kinds of films Komaeda liked. Hajime knew he found cop films boring, claiming they were too fake and were propaganda; he also knew he loved well done superhero films- Komaeda claimed they showed how hope can save every one from the ultimate despair; He liked comedies, especially the cringeworthy kind that are only funny because they're so badly done; sad films and tragedies never got to him, he almost never cried watching films and only did when they were really heartbreaking and he'd only sometimes liked Romaces, though the two of them hardly watched them together. For some reason, it felt far too intimate to Hajime. 

He couldn't place that feeling, he supposed maybe because romance films were typically what he would watch with a girlfriend rather than a friend. Then again, Hajime wasn't sure, maybe he was too conscientious about it and was just seeing it differently. He'd never had a friend who he hung out with like this or a girlfriend for that matter so he truly couldn't tell. He must be overthinking this, there must be an obvious answer. Suddenly, Hajime found himself pulling out his phone to google the answer. 

'Is it normal to watch romance films with friends?' 

He scrolled through the different answers, searching for something, when suddenly he felt a weight on his right shoulder, Hajime looked up from his phone and saw Komaeda leaning closer to him. 

"Hinata, can we take a selfie?" He asked him, already with his phone out. Hajime blinked.

"Sure," he smiled, "why not." 

Komaeda smiled widely then held his phone out, posing a little as he took the photo.

"Hey wait- I wasn't ready!" Hajime protested as Komaeda looked at the photo and began laughing. He looked over the other's shoulder at the photo and stifled a laugh, his face was mid smile and he looked ridiculous. "Delete that, I look awful!" He protested.

"No way, Hinata!" Komaeda said in between laughs. Hajime pouted a little and exhaled hard, only causing the other to laugh harder. Komaeda's laugh was so nice to listen to, Hajime always found himself smiling and wanting to laugh along whenever he heard it, it was in all truthfulness, adorable. He tried as best as he could not to crack a smile and held in a laugh. "W-well at least take a better one!" He huffed. 

Once Komaeda finally composed himself, he agreed and held up his phone once more. "Okay, I'm taking it so be ready this time." Then he took the photo, Hajime looked at it again and grinned. "There! I look fine, see! Much better than the other one." He laughed. Hajime realised then that he didn't actually have any photos of him and Komaeda together, strangely enough despite them having hung out for so long, he'd never gotten the chance to take any.

Komaeda laughed with him, then sat back down next to him- noticeably closer than before and seemingly less anxious. "You don't mind if I post this do you?" 

"Only if it's the good one." 

"Of course! Ah, Hinata, do you have an Instagram I can tag?" He looked up from his phone at him, Hajime leant over a little and told him his Instagram, pointing to it once it showed up. 

"I can't believe I never asked for your insta, Komaeda. Normally it's like, the first thing I do when i meet someone." 

"Really? I don't really get a chance to give mine out so, I suppose it never occurred to me." He turned his phone off after a second and slipped it back in his pocket before turning back to the Tv in front of them. Hajime turned back to the tv and tried to focus on the film, though for some reason he was now acutely aware of how close Komaeda sat to him. He found himself listening more to the sound of Komaeda's breath than what the actors were saying. 

Over half way through the film, Hajime felt a weight once again appear on his shoulder, then slide across to his chest and when he looked over, was greeted by the soft tickle of hair on his face. Komaeda was leaning his head on the other's chest and seemed to be sleeping. Hajime looked at his face, a small smile was on his face as he chest rose and fell rhythmically. He seemed so peaceful and happy, especially as the light from the Television flashed across his face and illuminated it. Hajime decided he would let Komaeda rest, so he tried his best not to move in a way that would disturb the other. 

He sat like that until the film finished, then looked down at Komaeda who seemed like there was no chance of him waking up anytime soon. Hajime watched him for a moment longer, looking at every part of Komaeda's face. If someone had asked him to describe the most beautiful person he'd ever seen, Hajime definitely would have found himself describing Komaeda at that moment. Ah, he supposed that wasn't something most people thought about their friends. Was it strange to call your friend beautiful? What if it was true, Komaeda's pale complexion and wispy hair that was somehow strangely soft, along with his sharp features and soft smile definitely did make him absolutely stunning to look at. Hajime couldn't help but think he was attractive, because he was. 

Of course, Then there was his personality. His caring, devoted personality. Komaeda truly did care about each one of his classmates, and he really did care for Hajime but he was dangerously selfless to the point it upset Hajime. He'd been able to decrease the amount of self deprecating remarks Komaeda would make but Hajime knew well enough that they weren't gone completely and that the white haired boy definitely had a lot of issues to work through, and yet that wasn't a problem at all for Hajime when it came to being friends with Komaeda. Hajime longed to help him, but it wasn't just that. He loved spending time with him, they always had fun and the atmosphere was lovely. Komaeda always checked up on Hajime, he always noticed when there was something different or up with him but he never pried or made Hajime uncomfortable. 

Komaeda was one of, if not his best friend.  
That must be why Hajime felt the urge to wrap an arm around the sleeping boy and plant gentle kisses across his face. Yep. Definitely.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Hajime decided to put on another film and let Komaeda sleep for a bit, since he had previously said he was exhausted. Hajime ended up watching 3 more films before Komaeda eventually woke up.

~

It was warm when he woke up, Nagito felt comfortable and reluctant to move, his eyes fluttering open gently before giving up and closing again. He buried his head a little more into the soft fabric, when had he fallen asleep? and why was he so warm, he must have left the heating on while he slept, oh well. He moved his hand a little further to his head and suddenly felt the sensation of hot skin beneath his fingertips. His eyes blinked open and he realised just how he had fallen asleep. He was practically clinging to Hinata, who looked down at him with a bright red face. Nagito jumped up and slid away from Hinata, he felt his cheeks heat up as they turned crimson. 

"A-ah, Hinata I- I'm so sorry, oh god I-" He began, hiding his face and looking down as he apologised.

"It's fine, don't worry."

"I-I overstepped my boundaries Hinata, I'm so so sorry.."

Hinata let out a small chuckle, "Komaeda if I had a problem with it, I would have woken you hours ago." 

"Hours?..How long was I asleep? What time is it?" Nagito looked up at Hinata, only just being able to meet his eyes. 

"Hm, it's 10ish now, so you were asleep for maybe 4 hours." 

"Oh, I'm sorry, that must have been awfully boring for you." 

Hinata shook his head and laughed a little. "It's fine, really, you don't need to keep apologising." He smiled before standing up and stretching a little bit. As his arms rose, his shirt went up with it, exposing a little bit of his tummy and Nagito had to hold his breath and force himself to look away from it. 

"Ah, Komaeda, you hungry?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips and smiling. Nagito nodded a little. 

"Me too," Hinata replied as he walked through the corridor, inviting Nagito to follow him. "Truth be told, I haven't eaten since lunch at school. What'd you wanna eat? I'll cook."

Nagito followed him, walking down the hallway and into a room further into the apartment which looked like- and was- a kitchen. 'Oh, Hinata, I could never ask you to do that for me, I hardly deserve such kindness when I alread-."

Hinata turned around and put a finger to his lips before he could say anymore. "Hush. I'm doing this. I'm hungry too, so its really okay." He smiled and lifted his finger, then grabbed an apron off the back of the door and washed his hands then grabbed the equipment from the cupboards. Nagito stood awkwardly silent for a moment before sitting down on a stool by the island in the middle of the kitchen. 

"Now, what are you feeling like eating?" 

"Ah, anything really, as long as it isn't too much trouble.." 

"Okay..." Hinata put a finger on his chin and thought to himself before he went over to the refrigerator and looked at the contents. "How does stir fry sound? It'll be quick."

Nagito nodded again, "Yea, that sounds nice." Hinata nodded back at him, taking ingredients out and beginning.

Watching Hinata cook was an incredible feat, he was so focused and did everything with precision and speed. Nagito had to wonder, was his talent somehow involved with this? He'd seen Hanamura cook before, and this was on his level. If Hinata was as good as the Ultimate Cook himself, then it must be something to do with his talent. Hinata had never spoken about what being the 'ultimate hope' had meant and he'd even asked Nagito to refrain from referencing his talent. It made Nagito sad to think such an amazing talent made Hinata so ashamed, he thought it amazing and praise worthy!

Soon Hinata had finished and had put the food into bowls with none left over. They sat at the table and began to eat, It was good. Real good. Nagito couldn't actually remember when he'd last had a meal which was so standard and yet tasted so delicious.

"It's amazing, Hinata, Thank you." Nagito said in-between mouthfuls. 

"I'm glad." He replied, then they ate in comfortable silence. Hinata got up to clear their bowls away before Nagito jumped up to help.

"Please, let me help, since you cooked." He said with a smile and took the bowls from Hinata. 

"If you insist, I guess. But really, it's no trouble." 

"Well, I do insist." 

Hinata laughed a little then sat down at the island while Nagito began to wash up.

"Komaeda, I was just thinking but it's kinda late. I wouldn't want something to happen to you if you went home in the dark." 

Nagito hummed a little and turned his head back to look at Hinata.

"Would you want to stay the night?" Hinata's face flushed a little, he looked away and didn't meet Nagito's eyes.

Oh no. He couldn't, there was no way he could. For one, there was the fact he was absolutely positively crushing on Hinata. Then there was the bigger problem; his luck. Up until now, whenever he was around Hinata, Nagito's luck had been nothing but good. He knew exactly what that meant, the cycle would start soon and Nagito would be hit with a wave of bad luck which matched the previous good- meaning that when it finally caught up to him, it would be absolutely tragic luck and some catastrophe was likely to happen. If Nagito had been graced with the good luck and opportunity to have the option to stay the night with Hinata, it would only mean that something awful would happen sooner. Something awful that would involve Hinata. 

"I couldn't, Hinata, I've already imposed on your generosity enough today!" Nagito began to protest, shaking his head and turning back to scrub the dishes intensely.

"Komaeda, it's really fine, I would prefer it over you getting injured because you were out too late."

"No, I really couldn't." 

"Komaeda, please."

"Ah but..." Quick, he had to think of another excuse. "Hinata, what about your parents? I'm sure they wouldn't want me staying." He scrubbed the pan he was cleaning furiously

"Komaeda, stay." Suddenly, Hinata was by his side and had a gentle grip on Nagito's hand, looking into the white haired boy's eyes. "Please, I want you to stay. I know it's selfish of me but I couldn't stand the thought of something happening to you just because I let you go home. Although its not too bad, this area can still be rough at night and if something happened to you... I don't think I could ever forgive myself."

"Hinata...I..." Nagito had nothing else he could say, no excuses left. He also couldn't deny the urge to admit he wanted to stay, especially with Hinata staring in his eyes so sincerely. "A-alright, I'll stay." 

Hinata smiled at him, "Thank you." 

Nagito felt his knees go weak, he was absolutely powerless against Hinata's smile. 

~ 

After convincing Komaeda to stay, Hajime had taken over the washing up and had let Nagito sit back down in the front room after making him a cup of tea. Hajime was glad he'd been able to make Komaeda stay, even though it truly was quite selfish of him but he really was worried about the other. 

Hajime then sat with Komaeda and drank tea with him, making small talk and apologising for being so forceful before, then the two realised it was half past midnight and decided to head to bed. Hajime pulled the spare mattress from underneath his bed frame and set it up across the room from his own bed. He got out a duvet and pillow before finding something for Komaeda to wear to bed, he'd managed to find some lounging shorts which were comfy and loose if not a big too big and an oversized t-shirt which hung from Komaeda's shoulders, threatening to fall off completely. In all truth, Hajime may or may not have purposefully picked clothes which were comfortable but also allowed for the minimum skin coverage without it being weird. 

After letting Komaeda get ready in the bathroom, Hajime went in himself and washed his face before changing into his Pyjamas- which were actually just a slightly oversized shirt and loose joggers- then taking out his contact lens. He'd completely forgotten about that when he'd practically begged Komaeda to stay, he wondered how the other would react but also trusted him enough that he doubted it would be a negative reaction at all, He stared at his red eye in the mirror and inhaled. He then left the bathroom and joined Komaeda in the bedroom. 

"Hey, Hinata, I was wondering-" Komaeda turned to him and stared as Hajime walked in and sat on his bed. Then Komaeda blinked and looked away, "Uhm, just, could I borrow your phone charger? M-mines running low on battery..." 

So that was it, he wasn't going to verbally acknowledge the change. That was a nice reaction, actually, it was better than obsessing about it either positively or negatively. "Yeah, sure." He replied, unplugging his phone and handing it to Komaeda. 

After a few more minutes of them both getting ready and sitting on their beds, Komaeda spoke up again. "I had no clue you wore contacts, Hinata." 

"Thats kinda the point of it." Hajime laughed a little, Komaeda joined in and giggled a little.

"I suppose that's true." He smiled at Hajime, "It's uhm, really pretty, actually. I've never seen someone with red eyes, let alone one red and one olive."

Hajime nodded, "Yeah, you don't really get red eyes naturally, huh." 

"I-if you don't mind me asking, how did..."

"I'd rather not talk about it."

Komaeda nodded respectfully, "Of course." 

Nevertheless, Hajime smiled at the other and he smiled back. "Well, I'm totally drained." Hajime said, Komaeda nodded. "Same."

Without another word, Hajime turned off the light and the two of them got beneath their blankets.

~

Nagito couldn't sleep, he felt far too anxious. He rolled over in his sleep and looked at Hinata's bed through the dark. He had no clue how long he'd been attempting to sleep but he hoped Hinata was still awake, maybe talking a little would calm his nerves.

"Hinata, are you asleep?" He whispered out gently, just in case he was.

"Yes." He heard the reply and frowned.

"Ah, sorry.." He should shut up if Hinata was asleep, he might wake him by accident. Then he heard the sound of someone holding in a laugh.

"Wait a second-" Then Hinata's laughter rang out through the room and Nagito couldn't help but feel like an idiot.  
"Hinata that was mean.." He commented when Hinata's laughter died down, though he himself was smiling like a fool.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." Hinata finished laughing and let out a light hearted sigh as he sat up, "Whats up?" 

Nagito huffed a little before speaking, "Well, just...Uhm, I don't mean to pry at all but will your parents really be okay with this?" 

Hinata was silent for a minute, Nagito held his breath the entire time and hoped he hadn't upset the other. Then he finally answered.

"My Parents aren't here, They don't live with me. So I don't really give a fuck what they would or wouldn't be okay with." He sounded upset, angry. But not at Nagito.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked.."

"It's fine, really. You're my best friend, if I can't tell you, who can I tell?" Hinata sighed again. "They're overseas, My parents. They left two years ago." 

"Oh." Nagito didn't know what else to say, was there anything he could say?

"I don't know why. They never explained it, they just gave me the keys to this apartment and ran off." Hinata's voice sounded a little shaky, Nagito wished he could console him and give his voice back it's typical confidence it usually had. 

"Hinata, are you okay?" 

"I just..." His voice sounded on the verge of tears. "It feels like all I've ever done was disappoint them, throughout my whole life I've never done anything to make them proud- is that it? Is that why they left? Was I just not good enough?"

Then

"Why wasn't I good enough.." Hinata sobbed, letting go of any restraint and beginning to cry. "I ju-just don't understand." He hiccuped.

Nagito didn't know what to do, what could he do? When he was crying, how did he stop- he didn't know. He wanted to stop Hinata's sobs, they hurt him. He hated seeing Hinata like this. Then, his body moved without thought and he got up, carefully making his way to Hinata in the dark and sitting on the edge of his bed, cautiously wrapping his arms around the other. Hinata kept sobbing, only now he turned and clung to Nagito, crying into his chest and pulling him closer into the bed with him. Hinata continued to cry into Nagito for the 10 minutes, when he eventually stopped and steadied his breathing, the two were laying in his bed, holding each other close. 

"Hajime, I know it may not be much help but... You are enough. You're good enough for Hopes Peak, You're good enough for our class, You're good enough for Nanami-chan and the rest of your friends. You're damn more than good enough for me." Nagito said, moving a hand to Hinata's back and gently stroking it in hopes it would calm him some.

Hinata was silent for another moment, breath still slightly shaky. 

"You said my name." He said quietly. 

He had? _shit_. Hinata was probably so upset with him, he would probably kick him out now- oh god. 

"H-hinata, i-im so sorry, I wasn't thinking. I-" Nagito went to move himself away from Hinata, removing his hands from around the other.

"Say it again." Hinata mumbled quietly, keeping a tight grip on Nagito and pulling him closer, burying his face in his chest. 

"Wh...What?" Nagito breathed out, relaxing a little and letting Hinata pull him in. 

"My name...Say it again, please..." Hinata said in a whisper.

"...Hajime.." Nagito replied quietly. Hinata said nothing, only breathing rhythmically. He had fallen asleep. 

Nagito swallowed, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in. He relaxed more, melting into Hinata's arms. He felt himself becoming increasingly tired, his eyes drooping.

"...I truly am in love with you, Hajime..." Nagito said quietly as he drifted off in the other boys arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's some of the art I was talking about before! I'm working on more but for now I drew the selfie Komaeda took: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_xQCTsjdwg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
> 
> IG: @warcriminalnagito  
> ART IG: @warcriminal.en


	7. (Don't) Leave me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter because it's late and I need to give a small update before I feel bad,,,
> 
> But hey, something for you lot :)

Hajime's eyes flicked open to a sight he doubted he would ever recover from seeing. Right there, in front of his eyes was Komaeda, the shirt he'd been wearing falling from his shoulders and exposing the pale boy's collarbones. He looked up a little and saw Komaeda's sleeping face, a peaceful smile plastered on and the tiniest bit of drool leaving his slightly open mouth. Hajime then realised that Komaeda was cuddling up to him and that Hajime had previously, until mere moments ago, been doing the exact same. Their legs were tangled together under the sheets and arms wrapped around eachother, Hajime breathed in silently and gulped. Woah. Komaeda smelt like Coconuts, now he was that close he could really smell it on the other. It made his head spin a little.

He tried to assess the situation, remembering exactly how this had come to be. Oh, that was right. It was Hajime's fault. Last night, he'd felt so hysteric and awful, that as soon as Komaeda had hugged him he let go of his restraint and just pulled him closer. Then, what was it? Ah, right. Komaeda had accidentally called Hajime by his given name rather than his family name. Then Hajime had asked him to do it again. He stilled remembered the way Komaeda had said it, he repeated the sound in his head until he felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. 

He must have looked so pathetic, so desperate for acceptance and love. Hajime decided he didn't want to think about it anymore, less his face become twice as red as it currently was. Instead, Hajime gently tried to untangle himself from the other boy, trying not to wake him in the process as he freed his legs from the mess beneath the covers. After a few minutes, Hajime had reluctantly pried his way out of Komaeda's grasp and manoeuvred around and out of the bed. He yawned slightly as he stretched, grabbing his phone from the nightstand beside him as he checked the time. 

**09:57AM**

**[3 UNREAD MESSAGES]**

Hajime groaned quietly, he'd slept in far too late. He had work in about an hour, he had to make something to eat and get ready or he'd feel like shit until lunch. He decided he could get ready after cooking, just in case. Oh, he should make some for Komaeda too, in case he wanted to eat something. So Hajime got to work, quickly cooking up a breakfast consisting of Steamed rice, Miso soup and grilled fish, eating his half of the food and wrapping Komaeda's portion up, then keeping it in the oven on a low temperature as to not over cook it.

 **10:35AM**

Alright, perfect. 25 minutes was more than enough time for a quick shower as long as he kept his hair mostly dry, so that's what he did. After he washed, he went to the bedroom and after checking Komaeda was still soundly asleep, changed into his clothes as fast as he could. Finally, he went to the bathroom and put in his contacts as well as brushing his teeth. 

**10:48AM**

Hajime patted himself on the back, then checked on Komaeda, who was still sleeping. He sighed and smiled at the other, then decided he had to go or he'd never catch his bus. He would text Komaeda as soon as he left the apartment, apologising and what not. He left a spare key on the island of the kitchen before he left, locking up behind him and beginning his commute to work. 

~

Nagito let out a small whine as he woke, the bed feeling colder than he remembered it. He glanced around as he sat up, realising why that was. Hinata was no longer in bed with him, he flushed a deep red as he recalled the events of the previous night. He'd slept in the same bed as Hinata. He was in Hinata's bed. Nagito was so lucky, that was the only thing he could really process. He let out a giggle of joy as he laid back down on the bed for a moment. 

Hinata's Bed. 

_Hinata's_ Bed.

Hinata's _Bed._

_Hinata's Bed._

Gosh, he must seem insane right now. It just felt so surreal to him, how did trash like him somehow find himself in someone like Hinata's bed?

And how could he forget, He'd called Hinata by his first name yesterday too. Not once, but _twice._ And Hinata hadn't even gotten mad. 

Oh. Oh, but he had made Hinata cry. That's right, Hinata had been crying because of him. If only Nagito had kept his stupid insolent mouth shut, Hinata would never have started crying. It was all his fault, he was an awful friend- feeling so happy when he was the cause of his friends misery. Nagito had to apologise to Hinata immediately!

Speaking of Hinata, where was he? 

Nagito got out of bed, stretching his legs a little as he did so and left the bedroom, he made his way through each room in the house and yet Hinata wasn't there. Nagito went back to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, quickly searching and locating his phone. 

**12:06PM**

**[4 UNREAD MESSAGES]**

[11:01] **Hope ♡** : Hey Komaeda, I had to get up and go to work and you were still sleeping, so I didn't wanna wake you. There's breakfast for you in the oven (make sure to turn it off once you've eaten), I'll be back around 1ish if you want to wait for me. 

[11:02] **Hope ♡** : Oh, if you wanna go home before I'm back, there's a spare key on the kitchen counter you can use to lock up.

[11:02] **Hope ♡** : If you wanna stay though, you can watch tv and stuff till I get back. Also you can borrow some of my clothes if you don't want to wear your dirty ones.

[11:02] **Hope ♡** : Okay, I gotta go to work, text me back when you wake up. :) 

Nagito smiled, Hinata was so considerate of him, going so far as to make him breakfast and offer his own clothes. He felt awful, making him go to such lengths when he hardly deserved it after what he did yesterday. Nevertheless, Nagito found himself making his way to the kitchen and taking the food out of the oven, remembering to turn it off just as Hinata asked. 

He sat down at the table and began to eat. Once again, it was a very simple meal and yet Hinata had somehow made it taste absolutely delicious. Nagito ate slowly, enjoying it before he finished and washed up the dishes. 

Nagito had a decision to make, he could either impose further on Hinata's generosity or he could resist the urge to stay and drag himself out of the apartment. He doubted that when Hinata got back, he'd be super happy seeing scum like Nagito still lounging around, he was probably just being polite with the offer and truly just wanted Nagito gone so he could have the apartment to himself once more. 

With that depressing thought, Nagito took himself to the bedroom and changed out of the Pyjamas Hinata had lent him. His clothes weren't that dirty, and he would just change out of them again as soon as he got home anyway. No, he couldn't take even more from Hinata than the time he'd already robbed him of. So he found his clothes from the night before and changed into them. 

10 minutes later and he was ready to go, he grabbed his phone and slipped it into his pocket before taking the key from the island and leaving the apartment. He called a taxi, having it come and take him home. He was thankful he'd kept a small wallet of emergency cash in his trouser pockets, since he'd rather not have walked home. 

Once he got home, he went inside and immediately undress once again, chucking his clothes into the laudry room and deciding to go for a shower.

~ 

Hajime had never gotten the text back from Komaeda, but instead was left on read. He had to admit, it hurt just a small amount, but he had no clue whether Komaeda was still in his home or had left. When he got back to his apartment, he went inside and called out. 

"Komaeda, you here?" 

No reply. Hajime went to the kitchen, Komaeda was not there but the oven had been turned off and the dishes washed. He went to the front room, Komaeda was not there. He went to the bedroom, Komaeda was not there but his bed had been made and the clothes he'd given Komaeda to wear to sleep were folded neatly on top of Hajime's washing basket. 

Hajime walked back to the front room and sat down on the couch, sighing. 

The apartment felt even emptier than usual. 

Then, a notification alerted him to his phone. 

[01:13] **Marshmallow <3 **: Hinata !! I'm so sorry for not replying ;-;

[01:13] **Marshmallow <3 **: I meant to but got distracted and forgot 

[01:13] **Marshmallow <3 **: (● ˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́)੭ꠥ⁾⁾ 

[01:14] **You** : its fine Komaeda, as long as you got home safe 

[01:14] **Marshmallow <3 **: aah, I did ! 

[01:14] **Marshmallow <3 **: thank you sm for letting me stay round ( ◠‿◠ )

[01:15] **You** : don't worry about it :) 

[01:15] **Marshmallow <3 **: aaaahghhg,,, Hinata,,,? 

[01:15] **Marshmallow <3 **: I'm reaaaaally sorry,, but it seems I left my jacket at yours (〃ω〃)

[01:16] **You** : oh, want me to bring it when we meet tomorrow? 

[01:16] **Marshmallow <3 **: that's the thing,,,, 

[01:16] **Marshmallow <3 **: I can't make Sunday (´Д` )

[01:17] **You** : Oh, alright , I'll hand it back on Monday then? 

[01:17] **Marshmallow <3 **: Ahhh, Hinata you're so kind,,

[01:17] **Marshmallow <3 **: sorry for burdening you like this.,,,

[01:17] **You** : its fine, not a burden at all :) 

[01:18] **Marshmallow <3 **: (о´∀`о) Hinata you're too kind,,,

[01:18] **Marshmallow <3 **: thank yooouuuu ^v^ 

Hajime hoped it wasn't his fault that Komaeda couldn't make Sunday. He hoped that because he'd been so pathetically sad last night it hadn't made Komaeda uncomfortable. Sunday was going to be boring now, he supposed he should probably schedule something with Nanami, or maybe Souda and Kuzuryu would want to meet up. 

Monday seemed too far away now, all he wanted was to see Komaeda again. He'd just have to wait.


	8. unseen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the prompt I began this stupid fix with makes its way in!
> 
> also Chiaki is back!!

Just as predicted, Sunday went by far less interestingly. Hajime had invited Nanami over to play games instead, of course he still had a great time with Nanami but the anxiety of seeing Komaeda on Monday played with his heart. 

So when Monday morning rolled around, Hajime couldn't help but feel terrified. He considered skipping, then realised he'd have to give Komaeda his jacket eventually. He worked up his courage and walked into school, said jacket folded neatly on his arm as he arrived. 

Hajime opened the classroom door and looked to his desk immediately, spotting Komaeda sitting there, reading a book. He gulped silently and walked over, gently placing the jacket on Komaeda's desk as he slid into his desk right next to it. 

"Morning, Komaeda." Hajime said with a smile. Komaeda looked up from the book he was reading and smiled back.

"Good morning, Hinata-kun." The white haired boy replied as he picked up his jacket and slipped it inside his schoolbag. Hajime was just about to open his mouth and protest to Komaeda's use of honorifics when Owari pounced to the front of his desk. 

"Heeeey! Hinata!" She flashed her toothy grin at Hajime and nodded politely to Komaeda. "Why'd you have Komaeda's jacket?" Owari asked like an excited puppy, eager to know. 

"What? Why?" Hajime asked, raising his eyebrows and backing away as she leaned closer to him. 

"Because I wanna know, dumbass!" Owari leaned on her elbows and stared Hajime in the eyes.

"Jesus, Owari, it's too early for this.." He groaned, leaning further back and averting his eyes from her stare. 

"Hiiiinaaataaa!!" 

"Fine, just move away from me first." Hajime reluctantly agreed. Owari moved back as asked and continued to stare with an eager gaze. 

"It's 'cause on Friday I-" Hajime began, but was cut off by Komaeda himself. 

"On Friday, I was leaving school and on my way home, on my bus. I got off at my stop, only to realise I'd left my jacket somewhere. Hinata-kun kindly let me know later on that he'd found it on the bus and agreed very generously to return it to me today." Komaeda stated, very matter-of-fact-edly. Both Owari and Hajime himself looked to Komaeda and neither spoke for a moment. 

Why had Komaeda lied? Was he too embarrassed to admit he'd been anywhere near the others house? Or did he just not want to talk about it at all? Was it something else entirely? 

Whatever the reason, Owari stood up straight and smiled, "You shoulda just said so, Hinata! You made it seem all secret like!" With that, she bounced away with a simple "Cya!" As she walked to Nidai. 

Hajime turned to look at Komaeda and gave him a puzzled look. "Hey, Komaeda.." 

Komaeda looked back at him and cocked his head a little in query. "Yes, Hinata-kun?" 

"Why-d you just li-" Hajime began to ask, before being abruptly cut off by the classroom door opening and Ms.Yukizome's cheery voice calling out to the entire class, silencing all conversations as the rest of the students made their way to their desks. 

Damnit. Ah, Hajime decided he'd just ask later.

~

Nagito was glad he cut in on time, he would have hated it if Hinata hadn't been able to come up with something and had been forced to say the truth, that Hinata had let trash like him stay the night- it would have been so embarrassing for Hinata he was sure of it. There was no way he'd tarnish his friends valuable reputation like that. Which is exactly what he told himself for the next 20 minutes as class began. Nagito was sure Hinata would be embarrassed and wouldn't want to be seen with him ever again if people knew. Hinata had tried to say something to him but as much as it hurt Nagito, he'd already made the decision not to talk to him.

Halfway through the first lesson of the day and Nagito was copying down the lesson from the chalkboard, taking down as many notes as he could be bothered too. His hand was resting limply next to him, dangerously close to Hinata's own hand, their elbows occasionally brushing against each other when one of them went to readjust their sitting position. Nagito could hardly focus on his work, sitting so close to Hinata was bad for his education. 

Eventually, Nagito gave up trying to write words and stared out of the window next to him, scribbling and doodling along the margin of his notebook as he looked out to the courtyard. Particularly staring out at the small strips of grass where the trees grew, He'd often see groups of friends and couples sitting under the shade of those trees eating lunch together during the summer terms and now couldn't help but imagining himself out there, eating his lunch next to Hinata, holding his hand and having him rest his head upon Nagito's shoulder. What he wouldn't give for that, being able to display his affections to Hinata _and_ having them reciprocated! 

He'd imagined it thoroughly, what it would be like to hold Hinata's hand. The imaginary warmth felt so real in his own. Silently, Nagito sighed and glanced back down at his own hand. He wanted to, right then and there. He wanted to grasp it tightly and never let it go. He had to, it was all he wanted right then and there, maybe he would be satisfied after that?

_He had no right to ask that of Hinata though._

His fingers moved on their own, his arm inching closer to the boy beside him's.

_Hinata, who had been so kind as to befriend Nagito._

Then, their pinkies brushed. 

_Hinata, who had only ever been considerate of how Nagito felt._

Their pinkies didn't move away from each other. They stayed touching lightly.

_Hinata, who had come into Nagito's dull and sad life and brightened it up._

Then, Nagito's pinky interlocked itself onto Hinata's.

_Hinata, who had pulled Nagito from despairs grip and shown him a hope beyond anything he'd every dreamt of._

Hinata's arm went stiff.

 _Hinata, who surely hated him. Who must despise him. Who must think of him as such trash, completely unworthy to hold hands with, hardly even worth a second thought._  
Sure they may have slept in the same bed, but Hinata had only put up with it out of pity. He was going to shout out in disgust any second, Nagito had ruined the friendship he'd worked so hard at. It was all his fault, he'd been too selfish. All his fault, All his fault. If only he'd kept his desires in the darkest corners of his mind. His fault. His fault. His fault. His F-

Nagito's hand was suddenly met with a warmth unlike any other. Hinata had turned his hand and gently took a hold of Nagito's, intertwining their fingers. Hinata was holding his hand. 

Hinata was holding his hand. 

~

Hajime had no damn clue what he was thinking when he grabbed a hold of Komaeda's hand. Sure, their pinkies had been touching before but it was always possible that that had been a complete accident. Hajime looked away, in the opposite direction as his cheeks flushed red. He was positive Komaeda was going to pull his hand away any moment. 

but he didn't. 

Their fingers stayed intertwined for the next few hours, until eventually the recess bell rang. It took a few minutes after the bell went but eventually, Komaeda gently untangled their fingers and turned to face him. Hajime looked back, unable to catch his eye but instead focusing on other parts of his face, like his lips. 

Nanami tapped Hajime's shoulder gently, pulling him away from their moment. "Hey, Hey, Hajime. Come with me to get some milk?" 

Hajime nodded. He up from his seat and following her, though not before turning back and looking at Komaeda, who was smiling at him. Hajime smiled back and then left after Nanami. 

As soon as the two of them got to the vending machine, Nanami turned to him with puffed out cheeks and a small frown as she inserted her money into the machine.

"Whats up with you and Komaeda?" She asked, raising her eyebrows in suspicion. Hajime looked back with surprise. Had she seen them from under the table? How much did she know? 

"Wh- What do you mean by that?!" He laughed nervously, 

"Well, you guys are friends right? But you never talk in class even though you sit together now and he didn't go with you to the movies yesterday. Did you get in a fight?"

The vending machine whirred for a long moment as Hajime decided on what to say. Nanami leaned down and picked up her milk before walking a little to the space by the machine and leaning on the wall behind her. 

"If it was a fight, you'd already know."

"So, what was it?"

Hajime bit his cheek. "I...I think I have a crush on him." He confessed, blushing heavily and looking away.

"Ohh." Nanami nodded and sipped her drink. "I'm no good at dating sims...so I can't be much help...But what makes you think that?"

Hajime hummed for a second, biting his lip before speaking. "On Friday, Komaeda said he didn't feel like going to the mall, so I invited him around mine to watch some films. He uh, he fell asleep on me at one point and.."

Nanami hummed back, nodding once again as she drank. 

"Then, I kind of asked him to stay the night and some stuff happened...then, we uhm.." Hajime exhaled and rubbed his forehead. "...this is so embarrassing..."

"You what?.." 

"We ended up sleeping in the same bed." 

Nanami gasped jokingly and smiled, poking his shoulder. "Gooo Hajime!" 

"Gah- Shut up!" Hajime poked her back but grinned, then sighed. "He left without texting me until I got back from work at 1 on Saturday, then cancelled on Sunday."

"Uh oh..."

"...Yeah." Hajime sighed, "I just...Agh! I can't stop thinking I did something wrong! I keep thinking about him too."

"Mm, sounds like a big crush to me." 

"Chiaki. Listen to me. He smells. Like coconut. Coconut! And when he laughs its like I'm dying! He's so fuckin' pretty." Hajime exclaimed, unable to hold his thoughts in any longer.

Nanami laughed, "Yep, that's a maaajor crush!" 

Hajime blushed even more than he had been before and hid his face in his hands. "I don't know what to do!" 

"Why not confess?" 

He stared at her and laughed. "God- No! I could never admit it to his face! Plus I don't even know if he likes guys like that- never mind me specifically!"

Nanami huffed a little, then chucked her empty milk carton into the bin by the vending machine. 

"Hmm, I don't know Hajime, maybe he does? You'll never know if you stay silent forever.." 

Hajime sighed and folded his arms, "Agh, whatever. I'll just figure something out later. We need to get back to class first."

When Hajime sat back down at his desk, Komaeda was giving all his attention to the book in front of him. Hajime sat silent in thought until eventually class began again. Almost as soon as it did, Hajime's hand found it's way to Komaeda's and that's where it stayed until Lunch. Then once again after lunch, until the end of school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes,, the prompt was them holding hands under the table in school. don't ask me why it took so long to get there ;v;
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Stayed up till 5:30 for this one ahajdhgs
> 
> ALLLLSO: Komaeda uses honorifics for all his classmates, since he's very formal around them, when its just him and Hajime, he doesn't use any for him but since they're in school, he uses them as to not arouse suspicion amongst his classmates
> 
> Ig:@warcriminalnagito  
> Art ig: @warcriminal.en


	9. Don't mention it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this is like,,, so delayed but I had MASSIVE writer's block until midnight and I've been writing since. Also! I got New Horizons two days ago and have been playing as much as I can between school work ahah,,,

Nagito wasn't sure why Hinata had grabbed his hand. Why he'd allowed such scum like him to be near him was mystery enough, so the sudden hand holding throughout class had perplexed him beyond any academic quizzing ever could. He refused to think about it too hard, at least not during school hours. 

When he got home, however, was a different matter entirely. Question plagued his every moment as he considered every possibility from most likely to least. In the end, after hours of frustration and self debate, Nagito reached what he deemed to be the most probable cause. 

It was entirely Platonic, Hinata had did not reciprocate his feelings but instead had just wanted to hold hands with someone. Nagito understood that, after all he was about as touch starved as a dog born and raised in an overcrowded kennel and understood what the urge to just have the smallest amount of physical affection. It made sense too, Hinata couldn't ask Nanami since a boy and girl holding hands would just spark far too many rumours, Nanami was also too far away at the time while Nagito had been less than a foot away. 

That must be it, there's no other reason why Hinata would stoop so low. Although, he was sure that two boys holding hands would also spark rumours, maybe even more than a girl and a boy but he supposed that's why they had held hands underneath the desk. 

Regardless, If it was platonic- _which it most definitely positively had to be_ \- Hinata probably didn't want him bringing it up again. There was no need to, plus Nagito would rather end his own life than make their friendship awkward by mentioning it and making Hinata uncomfortable. 

_And maybe, just maybe..._

_If Nagito pretended not to notice or care, maybe Hinata would do it again._

Nagito's mind felt free, like a weight had been lifted and he suddenly realised it was 5:30pm on a Monday and he hadn't even sent Hinata a message! He didn't want Hinata to feel he was avoiding him because of school, because he wasnt- at least not intentionally, so he scrambled from his position on his couch and went to find his phone in his room.

~ 

Three hours had passed and Komaeda still hadn't asked. Was he even going to? Hajime couldn't decide if he wanted Komaeda to ask, so he could pour his heart and feelings out to him. Or if he didn't, so that maybe he could get away with the contact without having to reveal his affections to his pale friend and face a possible rejection. 

Shit, Hajime had thought Komaeda was completely avoiding him for an hour and a half when he hadn't texted back, it almost sent him into a state of panic when he finally replied. It was a normal reply for Komaeda, no grammar or punctuation and an adorable emoticon on the end, so there really was nothing to worry about- right?

That, of course, raised another question in Hajime's mind. What had Komaeda thought of it? Had he been surprised? Probably, Hajime had just held his hand out of nowhere after all. Had he maybe even liked it? Since after all, Komaeda never really fled from physical contact when it was offered, albeit that was not as often as Hajime wished.

Whatever it was Komaeda was feeling about it, he wanted more. 

The feel of Komaeda's hand in his own was exhilarating: the white haired boy's thin, delicate fingers interlocked with his own; the feeling of warmth against his palm; the softness of Komaeda's skin resting on his own. Hajime just couldn't get enough. he wanted to trace his fingers across every inch of the other's hand, then slowly trace his finger up along his arm and towards his collarbones; then further up still, grazing across Komaeda's jawline, then gently pulling his face toward's his own, bringing it inches away and locking their lips together- 

_Jesus Fucking Christ, Hajime._ Get it together! Now was not the time to be imagining such scenarios. 

Hajime tried not to think about when the time would be, instead turning his mind back to the task at hand. It was late and he felt hungry, he took his phone with him and got up, making his way to the kitchen to cook himself some dinner. 

For the rest of the night, Hajime kept his mind off the incident at school by talking to Komaeda about various other things and keeping himself busy with extra school work, the thought from earlier only returning as he lay in bed trying to sleep. 

~ 

Nagito wasn't nervous this morning, he wasn't. Why would he be? He only held hands with his best friend (and major crush) yesterday in the middle of class and hadn't seen him since. Well, they'd spoken over text but there's a big difference between through a screen and face to face conversations. 

Today was no different from any other. Except, the chance that Hinata might hold his hand once more. It was a slim chance, after all Nagito was certain it had been uncomfortable for him, he was sure his hands had probably gotten weirdly clammy or something. But as long as that chance existed, as long as Nagito had that fleeting hope, it was still a possibility. One he longed for. 

Nagito sat down at his desk, first to arrive before Hinata as always, taking out his book and beginning to read. Fifteen minutes later in walked Hinata and Nanami, chatting away happily with eachother. Nagito watched as Nanami nudged Hinata's arm and said something before giggling- whatever she said causing Hinata to blush and look away, hiding his face from her. They walked over to his desk, Hinata setting his bag down beside his chair and sitting down while Nanami sat herself down on the chair belonging to the desk in front of them. 

"Good morning, Nanami-chan and Hinata-kun!" Nagito chimed in as they both went quiet for a second, seemingly finished their earlier conversation. 

"Hey." Hinata said, smiling but not meeting Nagito's gaze. 

"Hey, hey, Komaeda. How are you?" Nanami said, smiling politely as she pulled her gaming console from her bag. 

"I'm just fine, thanks." He replied, smiling still.

"Say, Komaeda, do you know animal crossings?" Nanami asked, leaning forward onto Hinata's desk as she started a game up. 

"Ah, the game with the animals and the islands, right?" Nagito asked, cocking his head a little, "It's been all over my twitter for months, I can't seem to escape it- why?" 

He could have sworn he saw a smirk on Nanami's face for a moment before she nodded. "I was just thinking, I bet you would like it." 

"Really? Why?" Nagito was getting more and more curious as to why Nanami had brought this up. 

"Hm, well, for one there's almost no luck involved, it's also super cute... You just seem like the kind of guy to play it." 

"Ah, well I suppose I do like cute things." 

"I may also be in need of friends to add in my game. See, there's stuff that you can only get if you play with someone else and well, Hajime doesn't actually own a switch- so I can't ask him." 

"Oh, alright but uhm...I don't own a switch either, Nanami-chan." Nagito admitted, laughing a little. 

"You don't?...That's a shame...oh well, can't be helped." With that, she looked down at her screen and began to play whatever it was. 

Nagito had notice Hinata hadn't said a word the entire time, when he looked at him, he seemed to be far too lost in his own mind. 

"Hinata-kun are you feeling alright?" He asked, snapping Hinata from whatever trance he was in. 

"Hm? What?" He turned to look at Nagito, catching his eye before looking away again. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just...tired is all. It's whatever." 

Then the bell rang and Ms. Yukizome walked in, Nanami got up and went across to her desk and everyone else took their places. Nagito looked forward and took out his books quickly as class began. 

He wondered if maybe, as unlikely as it was, would it happen again? 

Surely not, after all there was no way. Hinata also didn't seem to be in a great mood that morning- probably because he had to face Nagito. Oh, it was all his fault wasn't it? It was going to go to shit and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Stupid, stupid, stupid idiot Nagito.

Or, not. 

Ten minutes into class and once again, Nagito felt warmth against his palm as Hinata took his hand in his. 

What were the odds?! Two days in a row?! Nagito was ecstatic, his luck had been through the roof recently and he'd almost stopped thinking about the consequences it would have, but right then he didn't care. 

~

8:15pm and Hajime sat across from Komaeda, who was sipping on a Vanilla Latte and smiling. As always, Hajime had his hot chocolate in front of him. It was just like any other Tuesday with him, yet he felt more nervous. Maybe it was because they had held hands two days in a row, maybe it was something else. 

Okay, no, it was definitely because they'd held hands. 

Hajime picked up the marshmallow off the side of his plate and tossed it to Komaeda, who caught it as always and popped it in his mouth, smiling as he munched on the squishy confection. 

"You know, it's a shame I don't have a switch to play that game with Nanami-chan." Komaeda said after swallowing and taking a sip of his drink. 

Hajime nodded and frowned, "Yeah, she asked me about it when it first came out but I couldn't afford a switch, still can't." 

Komaeda nodded understandingly, "I would have liked to play it with her- and you if you had it, Hinata." He smiled. 

"Same. I might have to save up for one." Hajime replied, drinking the last of his hot chocolate and glancing out the window. 

"Hm, me too." Komaeda added with a nod before also finishing his drink, "Its probably time we leave now, it's going to start raining in half an hour apparently." 

Hajime looked back at him and nodded, collecting his bag and setting down the money from the drinks on the table before walking out with Komaeda at his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They,, they will have an animal crossings date (о´∀`о)   
>  Mostly because I had one with my boyfriend today and I thought it was the cutest shit,,   
> Also I know I'm going on but if anyone has any beginners tips or anything please help me out! 
> 
> That's it, stay safe guys :) 
> 
> Ig: @warcriminalnagito  
> Art: @warcriminal.en


	10. How could he find out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UH OH ANGST?!?!

Nagito breathed in shakily, this wasn't strange and he knew that. Hinata knew that too, and Nagito was certain he'd be grateful for the gift- he always was. Yet he was still nervous, what if Hinata didn't like it?

It was Friday again and instead of hanging out at the mall like they used to, Nagito was going around Hinata's for the second time. He hoped that maybe he'd be able to stay the night again but he was also sure that Hinata didn't want that. 

Or maybe he did? Hinata had held his hand during class everyday that week- was it really possible that such a thing could happen? Could Hinata really love Nagito back?

No...Don't be stupid, there was no way on earth. It was coincidence- that's all.

With a small sign, Nagito rang the buzzer for the apartment and waited to be let into the complex, then walked his way to Hinata's door and knocked three times. 

The door swung open after a minute and Hinata's smiling face appeared on the other side. 

"Hey man, come in!" He said cheerily enough and stood aside, allowing Nagito to walk past. He hung his jacket up on the rack and walked to the front room with Hinata trailing after him.  
The two sat down on the couch and Hinata turned on the TV and as he did so, Nagito reached into his bag that he'd brought with him and produced a box, handing it to Hinata with a slight blush. 

'Ah, Hinata...I erm, I got you something." He said nervously as the other turned and took the box off him, looking down at it and smiling. 

"Oh God, Komaeda, you shouldn't have- how much was it? I'll pay you back-"

Nagito shook his head, "Nonsense, it's a gift. The least I could do after all you've done for me." He smiled. Hinata leaned over a little and pulled Nagito into a hug. 

"Christ, you're the best, man." He lingered on the hug for just that little bit too long, but Nagito didn't mind- if anything he was thankful for the affectionate gesture. 

Hinata let go and opened up the box, taking the grey switch from its box and giving it a look over, "...Ah, I'm just wondering but could you help me set it up at all?" 

Nagito nodded with a smile then leaned over and took the rest of the boxes contents out.

For the next few hours, after finally setting up the consoles, the two played various game's that Nagito had brought with him and watched whatever tv show came on in the background. It was nice, really nice. 

Soon though, the two had begun to get hungry and Hinata went to the kitchen to cook them something once again. Nagito stayed in the living room, for a while until he needed to use the toilet. He got up and walked down the hall, trying to remember which room it was. Second door on the left, right? probably. Nagito reached for the handle and opened the door, walking inside. 

The lights were off so he trailed his hand along the wall to find the light switch, though walked into something and heard a small crash as something toppled over but he continued to search for the switch and when he turned it on and the room illuminated- he found that he was not in the bathroom at all. Instead, he was in a small room with a desk on one side and a chair tucked in neatly. 

On the floor by his feet was a small metal organiser, one of the drawers had fallen out and spilled papers across the floor. He supposed it would be rude to just leave it and so he bent down and began to clean up the papers, Then he stopped.

He hadn't meant to read it, no- he just wanted to clean up. But he had read it. There in bold black letters were the words 'Kamukura Project; Hope Experiment.' 

Then he read on, morbid curiosity taking a hold of him as he read the entire 3 page stapled document. 

What the hell? What the _hell?_

He could hardly process it all, Human experiments, Talent scouts, it didn't make any sense. Then there was the worst part- the document mentioned it over and over again; Making the Ultimate Hope. 

Nagito panicked slightly and shook his head then began shoving everything back into the drawer and placing the organiser back on the desk where he had knocked it from. 

Making the ultimate hope, what did that mean? And why did Hinata have these documents...It had to have something to do with him- or maybe his talent- he was...The ultimate hope...wasnt he..?

Nagito shook the thoughts out of his mind and dashed out of the room quietly, turning off the light and shutting the door silently as to not alert Hinata that he'd been in there. 

He didn't need the toilet anymore though. 

Still lost in thought, he made his way back to the living room and sat back down. He didn't want to ruin whatever he had here but he knew his luck would turn full cycle again, he was certain it could only go downhill. This must be it, whatever choice he made tonight would definitely be bad- he shouldn't have been snooping. Hinata will probably never forgive him if he brings it up, but he had to ask. He had to know more.

~

Hajime poked his head in the front room and called out for Komaeda to come eat, he'd made them some katsudon in quick enough time from left overs of other meals he'd had during the week and had already set the table for them. Komaeda walked in and silently sat down at the table, smiling at the food. 

"Thank you for the food." He said before starting to eat, Hajime watched him for a moment before starting to eat his own. They ate in a comfortable silence for a while before Komaeda spoke again.

"Hinata, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Whats the Kamukura project?" 

Hajime coughed and dropped his chopsticks, choking a little before swallowing and looking at Komaeda with a shocked expression.

"How the hell do you know about that? Who told you about that Komaeda?" He questioned, wiping his mouth with a napkin. 

"I- No one. It was an accident- I didn't mean to but I was looking for the bathroom an- and I knocked something over and it spilled everywhere and I went to- to pick it up and I ended up reading it...I'm sorry Hinata, I didn't mean to- really I didn't- I shouldn't have asked I- I'm really sorry- you must hate me..."

Komaeda's words were rushed and bordered on nonsensical, he just kept apologising and so Hajime shook his head.

"Komaeda, calm down- i...Its fine, really. I don't hate you and I'm not that mad- just shocked. I didn't really count on ever bringing it up again.."

With that, Komaeda seemed to relax a little and he slumped down a little, his eyes wouldn't meet Hajime's gaze, so he sighed.

"I can tell you, if you're that curious.." Hajime hesitated, He truly was ashamed of himself for going through with the project even though he was much happier with himself now- or rather with kamukura. He wasn't sure where he ended and Kamukura began anymore, it was strange and felt blurry. 

He looked to Komaeda, who had finally looked at him expectantly.

Hajime sighed again and swallowed once more. Then he began to tell his friend all about what he'd gone through some months prior to their meeting. 

~

By the time he was done explaining, Komaeda seemed satisfied. Neither of them spoke for a while. It was an uncomfortable silence though, the air around them seemed unfamiliar and even hostile.

Then Komaeda stood up, "So you've been lying this entire time? Saying you had a talent when really you never did?" He asked in disbelief.

"Wha- No! It's not like that, its.. its more complicated-" Hajime began, desperate to explain himself.

"Is it? Because to me it just sounds like you're a liar. Just a fake, trying to be something you're not!" He looked hurt, seriously hurt. Komaeda's usual smile gone and replaced with a false smile full of despair, his eyes like deep pools of betrayal and confusion. 

"No- Komaeda listen, I-" 

The other boy just shook his head and covered his ears. "No! I don't want to hear it, Hinata! I thought you were something you're not! Ultimate Hope my ass," He laughed, but it was void of happiness and contained only a poisonous, dangerous venom. "You're nothing but a reserve course fuck, trying to be better than the trash you are!" 

With that, Komaeda turned and left the room, then moments later he heard the sound of the front door opening and shutting loudly as it echoed across the apartment.

Hajime sat there, confused and bewildered. And Alone.

Thats how it always ended.

Always Alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I'm back? and with the angst I've been itching to write into this for AGES.
> 
> so sorry for the brief hiatus- writers block is a bitch.
> 
> IG:@warcriminalnagito  
> DR IG: @despair.bastard  
> ART IG:@warcriminal.en


End file.
